I'm Watching You
by DontStopBelieving4
Summary: Clary and Jace are completely blissed out and in love, but when Clary learns that someone is watching them, she will do anything in her power to keep him safe. Rated M just to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

I heard a crash and woke with a start. My head was pounding as I got out of bed. I really shouldn't have taken that extra shot of tequila last night. It was still dark outside, so it couldn't have been later than two in the morning. I walked into the kitchen to see a shirtless form with golden hair making scrambled eggs.

Jace.

I snuck up behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face between his shoulder blades.

"Hey, how are you feeling," he asked with the slightest tinge of worry in his voice. To this she just replied with a groan that vibrated through her chest. "Go sit down and I'll make you some eggs."

All these years he had been making me eggs and I still hadn't told him I don't like them. I just choked them down because he made them and always felt so proud of it. I sat down at the counter and watched as he made my eggs and got me water and aspirin. He set my food and drink on the counter and kissed me on the forehead. Sitting down next to me, he rubbed my back as I scarfed down the eggs.

"What happened last night," I finally got up the nerve to ask. He looked at me with sad golden eyes.

"Sebastian was there," he began, "and he kept trying to talk to you and I wouldn't let him. Somehow he got to you when you went to go get us drinks. I don't know what he said or did, but the next thing I knew I was up and yelling at him ready to fight. He said you were a bitch, that would never love me and I lost it. I hit him so hard I thought he was never going to wake up. I got us out of there, but when we got home you took out the bottle of tequila and started doing shots. After a few, you passed out on the couch and I took you up to bed and here we are."

Why did he still have such an affect on me? Every time I saw him, I seemed to get drunk and pass out with Jace having to take care of me. He never complained, but I knew it worried him. It had been three years since I broke up with Sebastian to be with Jace.

_"What do you mean you're breaking up with me," Sebastian yelled across the room. "After everything we've been through, you're going to be with him? He doesn't even know how to love another person and take care of them."_

_I just sat and listened to him yell. There was no point in arguing with him unless I wanted the vase that was so close to his hand hurled at my head. Jace was waiting for me downstairs to take me to his house. I just had to get out of here. At first, it had been the kind of relationship I wanted. I met Sebastian in high school where he was the captain of the football team and I was just an artist who wanted to be noticed. He noticed me in Biology class and I almost didn't believe him when he asked me out for Friday night._

_Without a warning, I fell head over heels in love with Sebastian. For the first year or so, he was the perfect boyfriend. Then his father died and everything went south. We got home from the funeral and I tried to console him, but all I got was a punch in the face and a black eye. Then, it would only happen every once in a while, but over time anything I said or did would set him off and I had to be accustomed to covering my bruises and cuts. _

_One day, November 4, 2010, to be exact, I met Jace. He was sweet and caring and I could feel myself falling for him. We would meet at the park to just sit and talk, but one day my face was too bruised to cover up, so I told him I couldn't meet him. He ended up coming to my house to see me with a bloody and fat lip, two black eyes and a possible broken rib. He didn't say anything, he just pulled me into his arms and took me to his house. _

_"Why do you stay with him," he finally asked as I sipped the tea he had made me._

_"I don't know, we've been together for so long and it really was good in the beginning. Maybe I was just hoping that he would change," I started crying against my better judgment, "I'm going to end it. I can't take it anymore. I shouldn't be afraid for my life in my own home."_

_"You can stay with me. I don't want you to have to deal with him ever again."_

_And that was that. As soon as I could get out of here I was going to be with Jace and I would never have to fear for my life again. _

_"Sebastian, you are incapable of love. You never loved me and I can't do this anymore. I'm not leaving you for him, I'm just leaving you." With that I walked out of the room and heard something crash against the wall just to the side of my head. I turned to see Sebastian fuming and ready to pounce. Out of nowhere, Jace appeared and held him back. He told me to run so I did. I ran down the stairs and into his car. I don't know what happened up in that house while I was in the car and I never asked, but Jace came down a few minutes later and silently got in the car and drove away._

_It wasn't like we fell into bed the second we got home. Jace gave me time to get over my relationship and after a few months, he kissed me in the kitchen one morning and that was it. I fell for him so fast, it was like my relationship with Sebastian never happened._

"I'm sorry," I said and I could feel tears threaten to make an appearance. Like the day he found me hurting, he didn't say anything and just pulled me into his warm embrace.

"I will never let anyone hurt you, do you know that? I love you and I will always love you. You don't have to worry about him anymore." He picked me up and carried me upstairs to bed. He set me down and crawled in beside me. With my head on his chest and his arms around me, I had never felt safer. I drifted off to sleep listening to the beat of his heart and feeling the rise and fall of his chest.

* * *

Where were we going from here? As I watched Jace sleep, wrapped in his arms in the morning, I couldn't help but wonder why our relationship was moving so slow. We had been together for three years and, sure, we lived together, but I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Jace. I wanted a family and he was the one person in the world I could imagine having one with. It had been months since we had even brought up the thought of marriage, but I couldn't shake the suspicious feeling that it might never happen.

Jace stirred and pulled me closer to him. I would never get used to the feeling his touch gave me. It felt like fire was rushing up and down my skin every time he brushed against me. I nuzzled my face into his chest and his eyes opened.

"Good morning, baby," he said as he lowered his lips to meet mine. I just smiled against his mouth in response. "Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"

I nodded. "Where do you want to go," he asked.

"Someplace nice," I said, "someplace special that can be all our own."

We laid there for a while until he decided he needed to get up and go to work. He got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and through the crack in the door I could Jace's clothes on the floor. I had the slight feeling that tonight was going to be a special night, but I couldn't wait until tonight to make the day special. I walked over to the bathroom and slipped out of the oversized t-shirt of his Jace had put me in last night. I stepped into the shower and wrapped my arms around him. He looked me up and down and the corners of his mouth twitched up into a smile.

"What are you doing," he asked through his giddy smile.

I didn't answer. I just kissed him deeply and waited for him to make the next move. The next thing I knew, my legs were wrapped around his waist and my back was pushed up against the cool wall of the shower. He kissed down my neck and I let out a moan that I knew would drive him crazy. I could fell him shudder and run his hands along my legs.

"I love you," he said, moving his mouth from my neck back to my lips.

"I love you too," I said, "You know that."

He pulled away to look me in the eyes and said, "You don't understand. You are the one. You are my soul mate. I can't even imagine not waking up next to you every morning and when I think about our lives together, it makes me so happy it scares me."

"What are you saying, Jace?"

"I'm saying marry me. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world. Marry me and be the mother of my children. Marry me and wake up next to me every day for the rest of your life. Be my wife."

I couldn't stop the tears that were running down my face. He reached up to wipe them off my cheek.

"Yes. Yes, I'll marry you!" I kissed him so passionately as we got out of the shower. He released me then so I could wrap a towel around me. I took his hand and walked him over to the bed and told him to sit down. I held tight to his hand as I looked in his eyes. There was no malice or pain. There was only love and passion. I loved him so much, but what I had to do next had been plaguing me for the past few days. I took a deep breath and gathered the strength to tell him.

"Jace, I have to tell you something," I paused, "I am pregnant."

All of the sudden, his face was in my stomach with his arms wrapped around my waist. I couldn't help but laugh. He kissed my stomach and started whispering to it so I couldn't hear.

* * *

He had decided to skip work today. Being your own boss gave you some room to breath every now and then. He laid on his stomach with his hands under his pillow. I rested my head on my hand as I traced patterns into his back with my finger. What I wouldn't give to have my sketchpad and pencil right now. The lines of his face and back begged to be immortalized. I bent down and placed my lips to his ear.

"Wake up," I whispered and heard him groan.

"Five more minutes," he said with his voice full of sleep.

"Nope, we've already wasted the day lying in bed and you promised me dinner." He laughed and rolled over.

"For you, anything." I bent down once more to place a kiss on his waiting lips. He pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm serious Jace. Let's go!" His grip tightened.

"You can't blame me for wanted to spend all day in bed with you. I love you and you shouldn't exert yourself anyways."

"I'm pregnant, Jace, not crippled." He chuckled and I could feel his breath in my hair. The doorbell brought us back from our blissed out state. I rolled out of bed and put on one of his shirts that were so big, it was like a dress.

"You can't answer the door like that," he said with a smile, "Whoever it is will want to take you for themselves."

"I'm not going to answer. I'm just going to see who it is, but if you're so worried about me, maybe you should come with me."

He groaned and said, "I'm not that worried. No one would be able to take you away from me. You are mine, always."

With a smile on my face, I walked to the front door and looked through the peep-hole. There was no one there, but an envelope was shoved through the mail slot. I pulled the manila envelope out of the slot and looked to see who it was from. It read "Clary Fray" with no return address.

I opened the envelope to find countless pictures of Jace and I. There was one of us kissing at a table at our favorite coffee shop, Java Jones. One of us walking through the park. One of me walking into Jace's office building and finally one of us sleeping in our bed upstairs. I stifled a gasp as I dropped the envelope and pictures on the floor. Someone was watching us. What did they want? Who were they? An endless stream of questions ran through my head as I realized Jace was waiting for me upstairs. Without thinking, I threw the pictures into a drawer in a table by the door.

I went back upstairs to find him sitting up in bed with the blankets pulled up to his waist reading _A Tale of Two Cities_.

"Who was at the door," he asked when he felt me enter the room.

"No one," I said, "it must have been one of the kids down the street trying to be funny." I knelt over him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm going to get ready for dinner. Please don't spend this whole time reading and actually get ready. I'd like to be home at a decent hour. You can't skip work two days in a row."

He laughed and said, "I can when I'm my own boss. Besides, tomorrow is Sunday so I don't have to work anyway. I'm all yours."

I shook my head and walked toward the bathroom to start the shower. I let the warm water run over me and wash the fear away. Why hadn't I told Jace? He deserved to know if someone was watching us, but I knew how he would react and the envelope was addressed to me. Whoever it was, they wanted nothing to do with Jace and I intended to keep it that way.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I have slight idea where I'm going with this, but would love some input. Anyways, I'm not sure how often I will be able to update because of my school schedule and the other story I'm working on but will try to update at least once a week until my other story is finished and I can work on this one full-time.**

**This story is set in an AU and all characters are human. The rating will be mostly for language in later chapters, but I don't think it will get too out of control.**

**Please tell me what you think so I can decide whether or not to continue this story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

* * *

After standing in front of my closet for at least ten minutes, I finally settled on a black dress with an embellished bodice. It flowed from my waist hiding the slight swell of my belly. I put on strappy turquoise heels to offset the color of my dress and twirled around to see myself from all angles in the mirror. I had curled my hair into soft curls that fell around my face and down my back. When I was satisfied with the end result, I walked downstairs to find Jace waiting for me in the living room.

His golden eyes lit up when he saw me. I noticed he was holding a small black box and his eyes darted between it and me.

"I was originally planning on purposing to you after dinner tonight," he began, "but I got caught up in the moment this morning and forgot to give you the ring."

He held up the open box to reveal a 3 carat diamond set onto a ring. It was surrounded by smaller diamonds and the band was white gold. He took the ring out of the box and got down on one knee.

"So, you already said yes, so there's no going back, but I want to hear it again. Clarissa Adele Fray, will you marry me?"

I took my hands away from my mouth and he pulled my left hand down to him. My hand was shaking as he placed the ring on my finger.

"I already said yes, you dork," I said with a giggle. He stood up and cupped my face in his hands as he kissed me. My hands moved to his wrists and held on for dear life. We finally pulled apart and he took my hand in his and led me to the car.

He drove with his hand in mine rubbing small circles into the back of my hand. He raised my hand and kissed the ring he had placed on my finger. I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder.

As we walked to our table, I noticed that Simon and Isabelle were sitting there waiting for us. Simon has been my best friend since before I can remember and Isabelle was Jace's adoptive sister. Simon managed to make her settle down a year ago and they were on their way to their first child with Isabelle seven months pregnant.

I leaned down to hug Simon and Isabelle, then sat in my own chair as Jace pulled it out for me.

"So what was so important that you dragged me and my very pregnant wife out to dinner tonight," Simon asked Jace with a slightly annoyed undertone.

Jace looked at me and nodded. I lifted up my left hand to show off the ring on my finger. Isabelle let out a shriek as she grabbed my hand to examine the rock.

"When did this happen," she asked. "How did this happen? When are you getting married? Where are you getting…"

I cut her off. "Easy, Iz. It just happened this morning. We don't know anything yet."

"Fine, I still want to know how it happened."

"No, you don't," Jace said with a smirk.

"Ugh, why must you two be so nauseating?" We laughed as I noticed Simon hadn't said anything allowing his wife to gush over the news.

"Simon, what do you think," I asked.

"I think it's great," he said. "Look, I may not have liked Jace in the beginning, but if there were a more unlikely couple than you two, it's me and Izzy, so I get it. Who am I to judge love. Sometimes it doesn't make sense and we can't control who we fall in love with," he looked at Izzy and squeezed her hand, "and you guys make each other happy. Who am I to say you two shouldn't be together."

Simon had always been protective of me, especially after he found out how abusive Sebastian was, and he and Jace never really hit it off, but now they really were family and put on smiles and happy faces for Izzy's sake.

"Nice speech, Simon," Jace said, "Have you been practicing that for long?" I tried to hold back my giggle as I kicked Jace in the shin. "Ow, what was that for?"

We all erupted in laughter. I couldn't stop until my eyes filled with tears. I couldn't remember a time I had been happier and then I remembered the envelope I had found earlier that day. My laughter stopped abruptly and my hand squeezed Jace's a little tighter. He gave me a concerned look and I shot him a reassuring one back. He knew not to allude to the pregnancy just yet. We had agreed it was too early to tell anyone.

"So, Izzy," Jace said trying to distract him, "how are you feeling? How's my little nephew doing?"

"Oh, he's just like his uncle, stubborn and annoying," she teased. "Oh, whoa. Jace feels this."

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach where the baby was kicking hard. I saw a tear form in Jace's eye and could tell he was realizing this was going to be us in a few months. He smiled and backed away clearing his throat.

"That's so cool, Iz." Our food arrived and we began to eat. Izzy picked at her food until she couldn't fathom taking another bite and dropped her fork.

"So, when are you guys going to have kids?" Jace choked on his water and I rubbed his back to calm him. He caught his breath as I answered.

"Um, I don't know. We haven't really talked about it, but you will be the first to know when we do."

"I want to know the second you decide to have kids. I want our kids to grow up together and the sooner you get pregnant, the better."

I could feel the sweat on my brow as Jace gave my knee a gentle squeeze trying to calm me.

"Okay, Iz," Jace said, "You'll be the first to know. Did you want us to call you right before we decide to pull the goaley or can we call you during the cigarette?"

"Jace, don't be gross."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same. After we finished our meals, Isabelle yawned and Simon took that as a sign that it was time to go home. We followed suit and headed home.

When we walked through the door, I was reminded of the pictures in the drawer by the door. I kissed Jace and told him to go upstairs and wait for me. He did as I said and I pulled the pictures out of the drawer once more. As I looked through them, a note fell from between them.

It read:

_Clary,_

_If you do exactly as we say, the photos will disappear and we will stop following you. Directions to follow._

I felt my throat tighten as the fear of losing Jace and our child overcame me. I didn't understand why they were targeting me, but I was going to find out one way or another. I turned to lock the door and apply the chain. I rushed through the house locking all the windows and closing the curtains. I didn't want to take the chance of someone taking more photos.

When I reached our bedroom door, I took a few minutes to return my breathing to normal and put on the best happy face I could. I opened the door and saw Jace sitting up in bed with his nose in a book. I glanced at the title and saw it was _What to Expect When You're Expecting._ I stifled a laugh as I walked over to the window and locked it drawing the curtains.

He didn't look up at me until I crawled into bed next to him.

"Good book," I asked with a smirk.

"Yes, actually," he said. "It says that you should be experiencing some morning sickness for the next few months so I don't want you kissing me in the morning."

"You are such an idiot. Remind me again why I'm marrying you."

"Because you love me and you're obligated to because you're carrying my child."

"Oh, yeah, that's right." I leaned down and placed a kiss to his lips. "Just for the record, I would have said yes even if I wasn't pregnant." He pulled me in for another kiss.

"And I will kiss you whenever you want, even if you have puke breath."

"The things you say to me, Jace Lightwood." He laughed and pulled me into him once more as I rolled on top of him. His hands were on my back and in my hair. I couldn't help but think that if every night were like this, I would be happy for the rest of my life.

I knew that I needed to tell Jace at some point that we were being watched. He would know what to do and prided himself in being able to protect me. Even before we were us, he had protected me from Sebastian. I still don't know what happened in that room the day I left Sebastian, but it probably ended with Sebastian lying on the ground unconscious. Jace would do anything to protect me and, now that there was a baby to consider, I knew that feeling would only be heightened.

This night, this day, was too perfect though. I didn't want to ruin it so I pushed my fear to the back of my mind and let myself be taken over by the love we shared.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know! _


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of it's characters**

* * *

_A scream, a flash, a crash. I was running down an alley. I couldn't see who was chasing me, but I could hear his voice. It sounded eerily familiar, almost like it was from a past life. The voice was getting closer and I could see Jace waiting for me at the end of the street. I raced toward him, but when I got there, he was gone. I froze._

_"Hello, Clary…"_

I shot up in bed sweating and panting. Jace had his arms wrapped around me and his eyes flew open.

"Clary," he asked, "Clary, what's wrong?" I couldn't hide it anymore. The nightmares would keep coming and I would need him to get me through this. I always needed him. I took a breath gaining the strength I needed to tell him. As I turned to face him, he sat up and took my hands in his. "Please, tell me."

"When I went to see who was at the door today, there was an envelope addressed to me with pictures of us. Someone is watching us. I found a note that said it would stop if I did everything they said and I'm supposed to be waiting for directions," I blurted out in a rush.

I felt him tense up and pull my head to his shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair while he processed what had just happened.

"Do you have any idea who it could be or what they would want?" I shook my head and as he pulled away, I looked into his beautiful golden eyes. "Look at me, no one is going to do anything to you. I will not let anyone hurt you or our child. We will figure this out. Do you understand me?"

I nodded as he put his hand on my stomach and pressed his lips to my forehead. I started to tremble and he pulled me into a comforting embrace.

"Go back to sleep, Clary. We'll figure this out in the morning."

Me breathing slowed and I was asleep within minutes wrapped in Jace's strong arms.

* * *

When I woke, Jace had already gotten out of bed. I went to the kitchen to see him sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand and one waiting for me. He had bags under his eyes, which told me he hadn't slept after I told him we were being watched last night. I gave him a weak smile and sat down next to him. His eyes conveyed the worry he had in his heart as he pointed to a large envelope on the counter.

"This was in the mail slot when I came down this morning," he explained.

I took the envelope off the counter and emptied its contents. There was a single picture, which I recognized as my high school prom photo and a note.

_Clary,_

_Meet me at Java Jones today at 3. Alone._

_You will be given further instructions._

I took a deep breath as Jace covered my hand with his. "Don't worry. You're going to go and I will be right around the corner waiting for you. I will jump in as soon as I see anything wrong. In fact, I'm going to call a couple of my buddies from NYPD, you remember Jordan right? He will be able to help us catch the creep that is threatening you."

I nodded along as Jace rambled on about how he planned to protect me and my mind went to the prom photo sitting next to the note. The only person, other than myself, who would have a copy of that photo would be Sebastian. I was immediately overwhelmed by the fact that Sebastian had taken his obsession to a new level. I fell into Jace's chest and his arms went automatically around me.

"Clary, talk to me," he said in his most soothing voice. I lifted my head from his chest.

"It's Sebastian," I said, "He's the only other person who could have that photo and the only person I can think of who would want to hurt me because I hurt him so many years ago."

"It does make sense, but what does he think he can gain from you?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"That's my girl."

* * *

I was sitting at my usual table at Java jones looking at the clock. 2:55. I had five minutes before I knew, for sure, if Sebastian was stalking me. Jace was hidden across the street at the bookstore and his friend Jordan had a squad car around the corner ready to pounce. I could feel my heart beat quicken with every passing second. I heard the bell on the door chime and looked up to see no one there. As I turned back to my table, my heart jumped as I saw Sebastian sitting across from me.

"Well, hello, Clary," he said, "Fancy meeting you here."

"W-What do y-you want," I struggled.

"What's rightfully mine. You see, three years ago, when you left, I knew you would come back to me so I let you go, but now I am growing impatient and am here to take you back."

I cringed at the thought lifting my hand to take a sip of my coffee. At that moment, I saw the sunlight glint off of my ring and saw Sebastian's eye grow wide. He grabbed my hand and peered at the stone on my left ring finger.

"What the fuck is this," he shouted. I pulled my hand back from him.

"Sebastian, calm down," I said, "you're causing a scene."

"That's it. You're coming with me once and for all. I don't care what you think. You belong with me!"

"That's where you're wrong Sebastian. I belong with Jace. It's always been him. He didn't hit me when I told him I loved him. He didn't make me cry every single night before I went to bed. He didn't make me scared to come home at night. He didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do. He didn't throw me away like a piece of shit every damn day for three years. No, that was all you. Jace took care of me, protected me from people like you and you think you have the right to tell me he doesn't love me? How dare you! I don't care what you want Sebastian because you're not getting it and you can rot in Hell for all I care."

I wrenched my arm out of his grasp leaving him speechless in the middle of the coffee shop. I could feel every single person's eyes burn through me as I walked out the door and onto the street. I saw Jace watching me from the bookstore and started toward him when a van pulled up and a man pushed me inside. I saw Sebastian's best friend Jonathan in the front seat.

"Jonathan, what the hell do you think you're doing," I screamed into the front seat.

"Sorry, Red, the heart wants what the heart wants," he said grinning back at me. I had always hated when he called me "Red," but didn't let it steer my focus.

"You two can't force me to be with Sebastian. This isn't your choice so why don't you guys stop following me and leave me the fuck alone!"

"Oh, we're not taking you for Sebastian, honey. We've got bigger plans for you."

He didn't elaborate as the van stopped and he pulled me out kicking and screaming. We were in front of an old, abandoned hotel and Jonathan pulled me inside. Once inside, he tied me to a chair and waited for Sebastian and whoever they were working for to show up.

Moments later, Sebastian walked in through the back door with a devilish grin.

"What the hell do you guys want with me," I yelled.

"What we want is not important right now," an unfamiliar voice sounded from behind me. I strained my neck to try and see who it was, but failed. "What is important is if you will cooperate with us."

The man walked around to face me and I took in a short man in a pinstripe suit. His hands clasped in front of him as he licked his lips in an extremely creepy way.

"I need to know what you want before I decide if I will cooperate."

"Shut up, bitch! Let him talk," Sebastian sounded from behind the stranger.

"First let me introduce myself," he said. "My name is Raphael Santiago and I work for a man named Valentine Morgenstern. Perhaps you've heard of him?"

I shook my head without speaking.

"Well then. He is a very influential man in the precious gem industry. You know, rubies and diamonds and that sort. What he wishes is to obtain is a very rare and precious gem dating back to the sixteenth century. A stone said to have been worn by Queen Anne at her execution. The problem is, the current owner will not sell the stone for any amount of money. Do you know who the owner is, my dear?"

He didn't wait for a response.

"Isabelle Lightwood and as I understand, you are quite close with the girl. We wish for you to convince her to give us the gem. We are done negotiating with her and will not pay her any money, but if she values her life and the lives of that husband and baby she's growing, she will cooperate."

"I don't understand. If you think she'll cooperate, why do you need me?"

"I said we think she will cooperate, just not with us. She is one of your best friends and will listen to you. We realize that we shouldn't put any stress on her in her delicate state, so you have until exactly one month after her baby is born to get us that stone. We will meet again miss Fray."

With that, they exited out the back door leaving me tied to the chair. About a minute later, Jordan came bursting through the door with a team of officers flanking his sides. Jace ran toward me and untied me from the chair. He picked me up bridal style with my head buried firmly into the crook in his neck and carried me outside. He sat me on the hood of a squad car as he made sure I wasn't hurt. He pulled me into his chest and held me until he heard Jordan's voice behind him.

"So there was no one there and they left no fingerprints or anything that might tip us off to their whereabouts. Miss Fray, they will not get away with this, but we are going to need you to come to the station to answer some questions."

Jace put me into his car and followed Jordan to the station. After almost three hours of telling and retelling the story, we finally got to go home. Jordan had explained to me that I was going to have to tell Isabelle about what was going on, so she could be apart of the plan to catch Sebastian. I was not comfortable with involving her so close to her due date, but I would rather it be this than the alternative.

I sat up in bed staring into nowhere. In the past twenty four hours, I had gotten engaged, told Jace I was pregnant and gotten kidnapped. It was almost too much to handle. Jace had his hands on my back, moving them in a soothing fashion.

"Baby, are you okay," he whispered into my ear. I shook my head as the tears began to fall. I collapsed into him sobbing uncontrollably. "Shhh, you're going to be okay. Izzy is going to be okay. We're going to get through this and when we do, we'll be a family. Shhh, I love you so much, Clary."

I pulled away and placed my hands on his face. "I hate him. I hate that he's doing this to us. I hate him for how he treated me. I hate that I didn't report him sooner. I hate that he still has some sort of control over me. I just want to be with you and have a normal life. Promise me we will be normal someday."

"I promise. Sebastian will pay for everything he's done to you, I promise."

Jace cradled me in his arms until I fell asleep. It wasn't until I was almost completely overtaken by the darkness that I realized Jace was singing to me.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter! Feel free to drop a review! _

_Until next time! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

* * *

I walked into the kitchen in the morning to the smell of eggs being cooked. I sat at the counter and waited for Jace to notice me. As I watched him cook me breakfast, I could see the muscles in his back tense and relax with each stir.

"You know," he said breaking the silence, "it's rude to stare, even if it is to stare at this amazing body." I giggled as he turned to face me and put the eggs on the counter. He leaned over it to kiss me and I tightened my grip on his neck. I put my hands in his soft, golden hair and somehow he was on the other side of the counter with me in his arms.

"Clary," he whispered into my hair, "are you okay?" I couldn't speak, didn't want to. I just wanted Jace to hold me and assure me that everything was going to be alright. I just shook my head and deepened the kiss. My legs were around his waist as he set me on top off the counter. He pulled away. "Baby, you need to talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, "I can't talk about it right now. If I start to talk about it I'm going to break down and I don't want to do that, so please don't make me talk about it. I just want to be with you right now and try to forget all the shit that happened yesterday."

He placed a sweet kiss to my lips and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. "What do you want to do today? I told Alec I would be out for the week, so he can handle things. We can do anything you want."

Just then the phone rang. I let out an irritated groan and answered the phone.

"Hello," I said.

"Clary," it was Simon. "You and Jace need to get to the hospital right now. Isabelle has gone into labor and she's asking for you."

"Wait, what? She's not due for another five weeks."

"I know, but it's happening and she really wants you to be here."

"Okay, we're leaving right now."

"Thanks and Clary?"

"Yes, Simon."

"I'm scared."

"I know. We'll be there in twenty minutes." I hung up the phone and Jace looked at me with questioning eyes. "Isabelle is in labor. She wants us…" He was down the hall before I could even finish my sentence. When he returned, he handed me my coat and a pair of jeans. I quickly put them both on and we were out the door.

We rushed through the halls of the maternity ward to stop at a nurse's station. Just then Simon saw us and led us to the room. Isabelle was in the middle of a contraction and I could hear her screams from outside the room.

"Where the fuck is Simon," she creamed at one of her nurses.

"I'm right here," he said as we entered the room and he went to hold her hand. "It's okay. You're doing great Izzy. Jace and Clary are here to see you."

"Oh my God, guys. If I had known this was going to hurt so much I would have never had sex." We all giggled. "I'm serious. You just wait until you have to do this and you'll be saying the same thing."

Jace smiled down at me. Isabelle felt the pain of another contraction and I rushed to her side to grab the hand Simon wasn't holding. A doctor walked in to ask if she wanted an epidural.

To that she responded, "Hell yeah. I need it, now." This had to be one of the funniest things I had ever seen, tough, strong, confidant Isabelle wanting an epidural. After shouting a few more expletives in Simon's direction, the doctor informed her it was time to push.

"Jace, if you don't get the fuck above my head, I will literally rip your throat out," she yelled at him. I saw a fear in his eyes I had never seen before as he darted to stand behind me and I laughed at the look on his face.

After two more hours of pushing and countless swear words thrown in every direction, a baby boy was born. The doctor handed him to Izzy after he was cleaned off and I saw her cry for the first time. Simon reached to touch her face and wipe the tears from her cheeks as he pressed his lips to her forehead. Simon's eyes were filled to the brim with tears as well and I felt a hand wipe away the tears I hadn't realized had fallen. I turned to face Jace and kissed him sweetly on the lips. He pulled me into his arms.

"Welcome to the world, Maxwell Gabriel Lewis," she said to the little boy. He smiled up at her as she handed him to Simon. He bounced around the room whispering words no one could hear. Jace released me and gave his sister a hug. It was the first time I had actually seen him give his sister a hug. Not even on her wedding day did he actually hug her.

His phone rang and he went outside to answer it. "He's beautiful, Iz," I said.

"Simon, would you stop hogging him and bring him over here," she said. He handed her back to Izzy and she, in turn handed her to me. I was awestruck at this tiny miracle that two of my best friends had created. Jace rushed back into the room.

"Clary, we need to go," he said and saw the looks on Simon and Isabelle's faces. "I'm sorry, we'll come back later, but there is something we need to do."

As we walked down the hall, Jace explained, "I texted Jordan before we got here that Isabelle was in labor. That was him just now and he wants to see us to figure out a plan. This is all happening a lot sooner than we thought so he wants to nail down a plan and put it into action as soon as possible."

I stopped him in the middle of the sidewalk on the way to our car, "Jace, I'm scared." He pulled me into his arms as I tried to catch my breath.

"You don't have anything to be scared of. I will protect you with my life."

* * *

"Okay," Jordan began as we sat in his office at the station, "here's the plan. You are going to let Isabelle in on everything that is going on. You are going to get the stone and bring it here to me. I will then have a counterfeit copy of it made for you to give to Raphael. We will be outside waiting for you and when you give us the signal, we will rush in and attain the criminals. Do you understand?"

We both nodded as Jordan told us the plan. It seemed pretty fool proof.

"I'm also going to put an armed detail surrounding your house and your friend's house in case they try to do anything funny. When they send you another note, text me with all the information and we'll go from there."

Understanding the plan, we left the station and headed back towards the hospital. We had decided to just get it over with and tell Isabelle what was going on, the sooner she knew, the sooner we could end this. She was sitting up on the bed with Max in her arms and Simon asleep in the chair next to her. Jace woke him and gave him one of the looks they exchanged when he knew I was in danger. I sat on the bed facing Isabelle and gathered the courage to tell her. The whole story came out in a rush. Everything, from seeing Sebastian the other night to the plan we had in place, were divulged quickly.

"So they want my stone and think the only way to get it is for you to get it," she asked. I nodded. "That's absurd! I don't want to give it up because it was my mother's and her mother's before that. It's not just a stone, it represents my family."

"I know," I said, "and you'll get it back as soon as we make a copy. I just want to end this and I want everyone I love to be safe." She nodded and told Simon to go home and get the stone. Jace held Max in his arms bouncing him around the room.

"I want you guys to have this," she said pointing to the other side of the room. "I've never seen Jace love something so completely as he does you, not even me or our parents. I know everything will be fine, but I want you guys to be careful."

It felt odd to hear all of this come from Isabelle. She was usually the first one to make fun of us or snap something witty. Never once had I seen her admire her brother. I knew they loved each other, of course, but they had their own way of expressing it.

Simon returned an hour later with the stone and Jace called Jordan to tell him we had it. When he got off the phone he told us he was instructed to return home and not go to the station.

"He said he doesn't want anyone who may be following us to think we're working with the cops," he explained. We said our final goodbyes to Simon and Izzy and left the hospital with the stone closed into my purse.

We arrived home just past midnight and I could feel exhaustion closing in. My knees suddenly gave way and I was in Jace's arms. He carried me upstairs to put me to bed, but I stopped him before we got there.

"I want to be awake when Jordan comes to pick up the package," I told him. "Don't let me fall asleep."

"Okay," he whispered, "What do you want to do?"

"Let's watch a movie." He set me down and we went back downstairs to he living room where he put in one of my favorite movies, _The Notebook_. We sat on the couch watching the movie and he held me close. About half way through the movie, the doorbell rang and we sprang up from the couch not bothering to pause the movie.

We expected Jordan to be waiting on the other side of the door for the stone, but when we arrived, there was an envelope shoved in the mail slot once more.

The envelope had a note and a phone I was supposed to use to contact Sebastian when I was in possession of the stone. I had to stop myself from smashing the phone against the wall.

"Clary," Jace said as he pulled me into his chest to muffle the sound of my sobs, "I think you need to go to sleep. Jordan probably won't come until the morning so let's just go to bed."

"What would I do without you," I asked rhetorically.

"I honestly don't know. I'm surprised you can even get out of bed every morning without me having to drag you out."

I pulled away and smacked him lightly on the shoulder and pulled my hand back, but not before Jace had it in his grasp and was pulling me against him to kiss me. His hands went around my waist and pulled me up to wrap my legs around him. He wasn't wasting any time as he ran up the stairs. Once in our bedroom, he threw me on the bed and went to close and lock the window and draw the curtains.

He hovered over me piercing me with his golden eyes then lowered himself to crash his lips into mine. His hands raised to the hem of my shirt and pulled it up to reveal my stomach. He pressed butterfly kisses along it and was quickly stunned as the doorbell rang. He groaned out of annoyance.

"Jace, you need to go answer the door," I said pushing him off of me. "It could be Jordan."

"I don't care who it is," he said.

"Please."

"Fine, come on." He pulled me up and turned around signaling for me to jump on his back for a piggy-back ride. I did so and we were quickly down the stairs as the doorbell rang again. Jace opened the door to find Jordan, as we had expected, but he had something in his hands.

"Jace," he said, "We have found something. Do you know Alec Lightwood?"

"Yes, he's my brother and business partner," he explained. I could fell him tense against me.

"We found a body. We believe it might be Alec. We're going to need you to come and identify the body." I felt Jace go limp against me and struggled to keep him standing.

He caught himself and straightened up before asking, "Alec is dead?"

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Please don't hate me for the ending, but it will all make sense later. Until next time! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or its characters.**

* * *

Jace's head hung low and his usually tan face was ghost white as I drove the car from the station where Jace had had to identify the body of his brother Alec. He had my hand firmly grasped in both of his. We were on our way to Simon and Isabelle's house to inform them of the tragic news. The sun was high in the sky as we pulled into their driveway. They would have just gotten home and would be getting settled.

"Maybe we should wait," Jace said as I went to open my door.

"Baby, she needs to know," I said. "He was her brother too."

"I can't. I can't take away all the happiness they're feeling right now. They should be so happy. They just brought their newborn child home from the hospital and I'm about to tell her that her brother is dead." He shook his head and placed it in his palms.

"We will do whatever you feel is right, but she has to find out sometime. Wouldn't you think she would rather know now from you than be on the phone with your mom a few days from now and find out?" He nodded slowly and reached for the door. I held his hand firmly as we walked up to the front door and knocked. Simon opened the door clearly elated and his face dropped when he saw the bags under our eyes.

"Wow, what happened to you two," he asked.

"Simon, I think we all should sit down," I told him and led Jace into the house. Once we were all sitting at the dining room table with Max asleep next to it, Jace stared down at his hands for a while. Isabelle became restless.

"You guys are making me really nervous," she said, "What's going on?"

He took a deep breath, "Jordan came by our house late last night and told us that they found a body. He had me go identify it because it was Alec. Alec is dead."

She shook her head furiously. "No, I just saw him yesterday at the hospital. He came to see Max. He can't be dead."

"He is, Iz. I just identified his body. I'm so sorry."

Isabelle collapsed into Simon's arms sobbing uncontrollably. Jace went around the table and wrapped his arms around his sister. I stood behind him rubbing his back. We stayed there for a long time before we decided to go home and get some sleep. We said we would be back and help with whatever they needed and so Jace and Isabelle could call their parents.

As soon as we got home, Jace collapsed onto the couch not having the energy to make it upstairs. I sat next to him and curled into his side.

"When I was ten, the Lightwoods adopted me," he said breaking the silence. "I was so scared moving to a new place, into a home that already had two children. When my parents brought me home that day, there was a sign on the door that said 'Welcome Home Jace' and when we got inside, Izzy and Alec were waiting for us. Izzy came right up to me and said, 'I don't think I like you very much.' She came around eventually, but Alec just ignored me for weeks and weeks until one day he came into my room and handed me a book. It was _A Tale of Two Cities_, the copy that I'm always reading. He told me it was his favorite book and he wanted me to have it. From that day on, we were inseparable. He was the greatest brother and the best friend I could have asked for." He let out a long, slow breath.

"Jace, you haven't cried yet," I noticed. "I think you need to cry."

"I haven't cried since I was five years old, honey. That was the year my mom, my biological mom died, and I watched it happen right in front of me. We were in a car accident and I watched her take her last breath before the first responders showed up. I cried for days and days and then, at her funeral, I couldn't cry anymore. All my tears were gone and I haven't cried since. I always saw it as a sign of weakness and I had to be strong for myself because no one else was there to be strong for me, so I don't cry."

I could see the tears fill to the brims of his eyes as his breathing got shallow. I pulled his head down to my shoulder and felt the moisture through my sleeve.

"It's okay, Jace. You are allowed to cry. You are not weak. You are the strongest person I have ever met and I love you so much. I'm here o be strong for you now." I held him for what seemed like hours. I thought he had fallen asleep when he sat up.

"I'm going to find whoever did this, Clary. I promise you. I will find them and then I will find Raphael and Sebastian and everything will go back to normal."

I had almost forgotten about Raphael. Could it be possible that he was behind this? Could it be a warning? Had they found out we were working with the police? Who would they hurt next? Countless questions were rushing through my head as we sat on the couch exhausted.

Jace cried until there were no tears left and fell asleep with his head in my lap. I could see the sun setting outside the window and was overjoyed that this terrible day was coming to an end.

* * *

Simon and I sat in the living room at his house with Max while Jace and Isabelle were on the phone with their parents. Izzy hadn't stopped crying throughout the entire phone call letting Jace do most of the talking. It was agreed that Maryse and Robert, their parents, would fly out later this afternoon and stay with Jace and I.

"I can't believe this is happening," Simon whispered to me as to not wake Max up.

"I don't know what I would do if I were to loose a child," I said. "I can't imagine getting that phone call."

"How is Jace doing?"

"Not good. Alec was his brother, not to mention his best friend. I don't think he'll ever be okay."

"You guys will get through it like you always do. Izzy hasn't stopped crying since you guys left last night. She hasn't even looked at Max. I'm worried about her, Clary. She acts so strong and tough, but she's really hurting right now."

"Like you said, she's strong. We're all going to get through this together." I took Max from him and rocked him back to sleep since he had woken up in the middle of our conversation. Jace and Izzy finally came back into the room and sat with us.

"Jordan texted me," Jace said after a few minutes. "He said the counterfeit stone should be ready in a few days, but we could wait until we get settled to go through with the plan. He said as soon as its ready he'll drop it off and we can decide to go from there."

"What time do your parents get in," I asked.

"I sent the jet so they should be here sometime around ten. I'm having the car pick them up and bring them to our house."

"What are you going to do about the office," Simon asked.

"We're closing down until further notice. I can get any work I need done from home and that's going to have to be good enough for now. No one is well enough to go in and work right now."

"Do you guys want to order in some food," Izzy said through her steady tears.

"As long as you're not cooking, I'm good with anything," Jace teased her and the mood lightened, if only for a moment.

We ordered Chinese from our favorite deli and had dinner as a family. I watched as Izzy finally picked Max up out of his crib and rocked him to sleep. I knew she was going to be okay eventually, we all were, if just didn't seem possible at the moment.

After dinner, Jace and I headed home to prepare a room for his parents. Once the room was satisfactory, we sat in the living room watching TV.

A little after ten o'clock, the doorbell rang. I had begun to hate that sound, but realized Maryse and Robert were supposed to be getting in around now. We went to answer the front door and were greeted by very sad eyes. Maryse's eyes were red and puffy from constant crying and Robert's head hung low as Jace's had yesterday. Jace pulled his mother in for a comforting embrace. It was time for him to be strong for them. I hugged Robert and led them inside. We settled in the living room.

"Would you guys like a glass of wine," Jace asked his parents.

"Yes, please," Maryse answered, "and you better bring a bottle of whiskey too."

She looked down at my hand and noticed the ring on my finger. The past few days had been so crazy, we had forgotten to tell his parents that we were engaged.

"I guess congratulations are in order," she said pointing to my finger.

"Oh, yes," I said nervously. "It happened a few days ago. We meant to call you, but some things came up."

"Don't worry about it dear. I'm happy for you. I'm happy Jace found someone who can love him unconditionally and who he can open up to."

"Thank you, Maryse. That means a lot coming from you."

Jace returned with a bottle of wine, a bottle of whiskey, three wine glasses and three whiskey glasses. Maryse pointed to the glasses.

"Won't you be joining us, dear," she asked me. My hand went, subconsciously, to my belly.

"Oh, no. It's much too late for me to start drinking." She wasn't buying it. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"So, you're pregnant," it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, mom," Jace said not even attempting to deny it, "we're having a baby. I only found out a few days ago and after I purposed, so don't go judging…"

She cut him off, "Jace, dear, I'm not judging you. I think it's wonderful. The circumstances aren't ideal, but who cares. This is truly a blessing."

"We haven't told anyone yet, mom. So please don't mention it around Izzy."

"Mums the word." She twisted her fingers on her lips as if to lock them shut.

They sat and drank for another hour before Maryse decided it was time for bed. She hugged us both and headed upstairs with Robert following her. Before he was completely out of the room he turned to us.

"I am really happy for you both," he said. "I just wish Alec were here to see you two. He would have been so happy to see our family grow." Then he was gone.

I finally let my own tears fall when I realized I hadn't cried. I had been so worried about Jace and Izzy and making sure they were okay, I hadn't allowed myself to grieve. Jace pulled me into him.

"I feel so guilty," I said into his chest. "I didn't get to be happy. As soon as we got engaged this whole think with Raphael started and now Alec…I'm so angry that Raphael is taking away my happiness. I want this all over. I want them all behind bars forever and I want whoever did this to Alec to pay."

"Baby, it's okay," he whispered. "We will have our whole lives to be happy after all this is over. We will make these people pay. I can't stand to see you sad. I promise I will make you smile every day for the rest of your life if we get through this."

"Sounds like someone just wrote his vows." I chuckled as he tightened his grip and kissed the top of my head.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought. Until next time! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

* * *

Alec's funeral was held a week later after the autopsy confirmed what we all feared. Alec was murdered, though we didn't really want to know how. We all gathered at our house afterwards. Everyone was finished with crying and was ready to start celebrating his life. We sat around our fireplace until long into the night swapping stories and looking at old pictures.

"The first time I met Alec," I said, "he definitely didn't like me and he told me as much. He told me to stay away from Jace because I didn't know how to handle him. About six months later, at the company Christmas party, he came up to me and gave me a photo. It was a candid shot he had apparently taken of us at Thanksgiving. I was laughing and Jace was looking at me with the widest grin on his face. I think Alec could tell what that meant because he said, 'He loves you. He isn't easily broken, but I think you could break him. Don't break his heart.' Alec told me Jace loved me before Jace told me he loved me and I will never forget that."

"That picture sounds familiar," Izzy said.

"Because it sits on our mantle and has been there since the day Alec gave it to me. I will never take it down."

"You never told me he said that to you," Jace said.

"How would you have felt if you knew you weren't the first one to tell me you loved me?"

"Well, I know now, don't I? All the magic is lost." He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"Oh, get over it you big baby. All that matters is you said it and meant it. I don't care that Alec told me first, in fact I kind of like it because he noticed a change in you and acknowledged it. He accepted me because of it."

"By the way, I knew I loved you before we even started dating so it wasn't like Alec knew before me."

"I can't believe you are still trying to win this argument." I heard a cough come from the other side of the room. I had forgotten there were people besides us present.

"Imagine what they'll be like once they're married," Simon pondered. "Scientists will probably want to study them." The room erupted in laughter for the first time in what seemed like years. We were healing and it was nice to be able to laugh again.

Simon and Isabelle left around ten o'clock with a sleeping Max, followed shortly after by Maryse and Robert. As we walked them to the car, Maryse turned to me.

"Thank you, so much for everything you have done this week," she said. "It just means the world to us and I'm so happy to welcome you into the family. To be honest, I was surprised it took this long for him to purpose. I thought he was ready to pop the question after the first date. He came over and couldn't stop talking about you and the look in his eyes reminded me of when I was young and in love. Anyways, all that matters is that you are getting married and I couldn't think of a better couple. I love you both so much."

We hugged goodbye and put them into the car waving as it drove down the street. Jace had his arm around my shoulder as we walked back into the house. He stopped in the doorway to our room and turned me to face him. He kissed me with all the desperation and pain of the past week.

"You know what we haven't done in a while," he asked raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner only to be cut off by the doorbell. "Shit, why is it that every time I try to make out with my super hot fiancé, the doorbell rings."

I giggled, "Come on, we can make out after we see who it is."

There was no one at the door, but a package sat on the doormat with a note attached. It was the counterfeit stone produced to try and trick Raphael. The plan was being set into motion. All I had to do was decide when to execute it. Technically, I still had about three weeks until Raphael's deadline, but I just wanted to get this over with.

"So, what do you want to do," Jace asked me. I paused for a beat.

"I want to get this whole thing over with," I said. "I want this all behind us."

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "Okay, we'll use the burner phone tomorrow and we'll set the plan in motion."

"Okay," I snuggled into his chest. "Now, where were we?" He grinned and swept me off my feet to take me to our room as I giggled along the way.

* * *

The plan was set. I was to meet Raphael and Sebastian at the same run down hotel to make the drop. Jordan and his team would be waiting outside for my signal to come in and make the arrest. He wanted me to get as much information as possible about Valentine Morgenstern and once I had as much information as possible I would signal the team. I would be wearing a wire so they could hear everything that went on.

I was waiting outside the hotel when the front door opened and I was pulled inside by familiar hands. Sebastian looked at me with a wicked smile and sniffed my hair.

"Hey, baby," he whispered. "Miss me?"

"Get the fuck off of me you creep," I screamed as I pushed him away.

"Sebastian, back off," Raphael commanded. "Do you have it?"

"Yes, it's right here. I just have one question. Why does this Valentine guy want this necklace?"

"That necklace, my dear, is going to help pay off some debts that Mr. Morgenstern owes to some very influential people who could make his life miserable."

"So, Valentine is involved with the mafia?" He nodded. "I assume you know Jace's brother was killed?" Again, he nodded. "Did Valentine have anything to do with his death?"

"Oh my darling, what would give you that impression?" There was a devilish look in his eye.

"I knew it, but why? I was cooperating."

"Mr. Morgenstern had a slight suspicion you were working with the NYPD, so he wanted to scare you."

"Why would he think that? I'm not that stupid."

"Really?" He stood in front of me and unbuttoned my shirt revealing the wire. "Give us the necklace now!"

"Here it is." I handed him the necklace and waited for Jordan and his team to burst in, but they didn't. That was the signal, wasn't it? Something was wrong.

"Thank you very much, Miss Fray." They were gone within thirty seconds. I ran back out of the hotel and found where Jordan was waiting.

"Didn't you hear me say the signal," I asked nervously.

"I'm sorry, Clary," he said, "We couldn't hear anything. Someone must have figured out what we were doing and messed with our connection." Jace exited the van to stand next to me.

"What do we do now," he asked.

"It won't take Valentine long to figure out the necklace is counterfeit, so I would advise you to get out of the city and take Simon and Isabelle with you. Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Yes," I said, "My stepdad has a lake house upstate."

"Okay, I'm going to put a barricade in place on the highway after you guys leave, so they can't follow you. I will keep you informed, but now that we have enough evidence to arrest them for multiple felonies, including the murder of your brother, there will be no way they can escape a lifetime in prison. I'm going to have every department in the state looking for them by tonight. In the meantime, be safe and get out of here."

We rushed home to pack our bags while I called my stepdad, Luke to let him know we would be using the lake house. Jace called Isabelle and told her to be ready in an hour. An hour later, we were at Isabelle and Simon's house ready to leave for the lake house. Jordan had a squad car following us, so he could be sure we were safe.

As we drove along the highway, Isabelle couldn't stop herself from asking a million questions.

"So this Valentine guy put a hit on Alec," she asked.

"According to Raphael, yes," I answered. "I'm sorry, Izzy."

"Don't be sorry, Clary. None of this is your fault, so don't start blaming yourself."

The car was quiet the rest of the way. As we pulled up to the lake house nearly four hours away from the city, Jace was informed that the barricade was in place and that Jordan had sent out the case's information to every department in the state.

I was beginning to relax a little bit feeling safe with the squad car and barricade in place. I unlocked the door to find the house completely dark. Jace ran around turning on all the lights knowing their locations by heart. As the lights illuminated the house, Isabelle gasped at its beauty.

"Oh my God, Clary," she said, "This place is beautiful. Why haven't I been here before?"

"I don't know," I said, "My parents use it most weekends. Okay, so go ahead and pick whatever room you want and I think there's a crib in the back closet for Max."

We all got settled and prepared for bed. I was looking forward to sleeping soundly for the first time in weeks.

Jace and I were lying in bed when he whispered, "I love you." He placed his hand on my belly and lifted my shirt. "And you my little baby. I will never let anyone hurt you."

"Jace, I want to tell Isabelle and Simon about the baby," I admitted. "I think it's time."

"Okay, we can tell them tomorrow."

"What is the first thing you want to do when this is all over?"

"Get married." I tensed. "I'm serious. I don't want to wait any longer to be your husband and I want to be married before the baby is born. We can have a small wedding now and have a bigger party later, after the baby is born."

"I think that's the greatest idea you've ever had."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! Until next time! :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of it's characters.**

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Max crying. Getting out of bed, I decided now would be as good a time as any to tell Izzy. She was sitting in a rocking chair holding Max in the room she had put the crib in. Max was slowly drifting to sleep as I stood in the doorway watching. When she stood up to place a sleeping Max back in his crib, I motioned for her to follow me. I led her to the living room where we sat and I told her I was pregnant.

"There's something I need to tell you," I began. "A couple of days before Jace purposed, I wasn't feeling to great. He had already left for work and I was puking my brains out. I looked at the calendar and noticed I was late. I decided to take the pregnancy test I kept hidden just in case I needed one and it came out positive. Izzy, I'm pregnant." Tears were forming in her eyes. "Oh, no. Izzy please don't cry."

"No. No, no, no. I'm not sad. I'm just so ridiculously happy and this whole having a baby thing has made me such a wus. I cry about everything now. It's so annoying."

We laughed as we hugged on the couch then got up to return to bed. It wasn't anywhere near time to wake up.

Jace was sitting up in bed when I returned. "Where did you go," he asked.

"I woke up when I heard Max crying," I explained. "I told Izzy." I snuggled up against him waiting for the comfort I felt to put me to sleep.

"I told you everything was going to be okay." I nodded and fell back asleep against his chest as our breaths synced.

* * *

I woke with a start and saw Jace still fast asleep. I eased myself off the bed careful not to wake him and headed toward the kitchen. The light was already on and I assumed Izzy or Simon had woken up early with Max and couldn't go back to sleep. When I rounded the corner to enter the kitchen, I saw someone sitting with their back turned to me. I wasn't awake enough to notice something was off.

"Hey, how's Max," I asked obliviously.

"I would imagine he's sleeping," he said as he turned around. I saw pale hair and sharp features with cold, dark eyes. I froze. Finally, I was able to speak.

"H-How did you get inside? How did you get past the barricade?"

"You underestimate me, baby. The barricade was easy and you forget that we used to come here all the time together. I know this house like the back of my hand, like the fact that the lock to the back door can be picked with anything sharp."

"What do you want Sebastian?"

"We didn't appreciate the little trick you played on us yesterday. We know the stone is fake, so why don't you just give me the real one and we can forget this ever happened."

"I don't have it and I wouldn't give it to you if I did."

"Then, I guess I'm just going to have to take you with me." He lunged forward and grabbed me. I lashed out trying and failing to loosen his grasp.

"Sebastian, let go! You're not going to get away with this! There are squad cars all over the state looking for you!" Just then I realized there had been one positioned outside the house. "What happened to the car outside the house?"

"Oh, I took care of him. He won't bother us." He started moving towards the door as I raised my knee to his groin and his grip loosened enough for me to break free. I ran back towards the kitchen as he straightened up and grabbed a knife from the counter. I ran as fast as I could, but he was faster and had me in his grasp with the knife against my throat quickly.

"Please, cooperate, baby. I don't want to have to kill you." I gave up on screaming afraid he would actually do it, knowing he was capable of it. I would not let myself cry or show any fear. I had to be strong, not only for myself, but for the child growing inside of me. He began his journey toward the door once more when I felt his grip loosen. I turned to see Jace standing behind me with his arms holding, choking Sebastian's neck.

"Clary, run," he shouted. I ran to the edge of the room, but was stopped by the fear of loosing Jace. I had to stay and help however I could. I watched as Sebastian struggled to be released from Jace's grasp.

"I swear, I will kill you, Lightwood," he shouted.

"That's where you're wrong, asshole. If you don't leave us alone, I will kill you! Get over it! She is with me now and you can't change that! You were an inconsiderate prick and she made the right choice in leaving you. Get it through that thick ass skull of yours! She will NEVER be with you!"

Sebastian turned in Jace's arms and lifted the knife to thrust it into Jace's chest. I heard my voice scream Jace's name as he deflected the knife and connected his fist with Sebastian's jaw. He stumbled back and lunged for Jace once more. He ducked and tackled Sebastian like a football player. Jace was on top of Sebastian raining punches down on Sebastian's face, occasionally throwing an elbow down to connect with his nose. There was blood all over the carpet and Sebastian was unconscious. I came up behind Jace and stopped his hand from coming down on Sebastian's face once more. He turned to look at me with a wild look in his eyes. When he saw the look on my face, his fell and he collapsed around me. We stood and left Sebastian lying unconscious on the floor.

I sat with my arms wrapped around Jace rocking him as he tried to control his sobs. I called to Izzy from downstairs and told her to take Jace's phone and call Jordan. He needed to know everything that happened and get someone out here to arrest Sebastian before he became conscious again. I ran my hands along Jace's back trying to calm him.

"Shhh, Shhh. Its okay," I said as I rocked him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You shouldn't have witnessed that. I'm sorry I couldn't control myself. I just hate him and everything he's done to you so much. I wanted to kill him and I think I would have if you hadn't stopped me." He noticed the blood on his hands. "I need to get this off."

"Come on, baby. Let's go get you cleaned up."

I led him to the bathroom and washed his hands in the sink. He had a small cut above his eye and I cleaned it and put a Band Aid on it. By the time we exited the bathroom, Sebastian was gone and Jordan was standing in the living room taking notes.

"I need you guys to tell me exactly what happened here," he said as we entered the room. We told him and he took furious notes. "Okay, there's no way he's getting away, so we just have to worry about Valentine and Raphael now. I'm going to put a whole team in place to surround the house. You all need to stay here until I give you the all clear. I'm going to have someone go out and buy you food and groceries, so give me a list of everything you need. We aren't any closer to catching Valentine, however, so you may be here for a while. Just hang tight and we'll end this."

He left us standing in the living room. I wrapped my arms around Jace's waist and buried my face into his chest.

"I can't believe he's finally out of our lives," I mumbled into his chest. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

"Hey," he lifted my head away from his chest to look me in the eyes, "I would do it a million times over if it meant I could be with you." He kissed me sweetly on the lips then moved his lips to my forehead. A stray tear escaped from my eye and I was suddenly exhausted. "Where are Simon and Izzy?"

"I told them to take Max into their room and stay there until we told them to come out. I guess we should go do that."

We walked upstairs and stood outside their door. I raised my hand to knock.

"Uh, just a minute," Izzy said through the door.

I giggled as Jace's face turned pale white realizing what we were interrupting. Isabelle opened the door with swollen lips and her shirt mis-buttoned.

"Really, Iz," Jace asked, "your newborn child is in the room."

"He's asleep, asshole," she said through squinted eyes.

"Anyways," I said trying to change the subject, "you guys can come out now. We just thought we should let you know. You can go back to whatever you were doing, but I need a list of groceries from you so one of the officers can go to the store for us."

"Yeah, okay. Give us like ten minutes and we'll be right out."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Jace said as he faked gagging.

"Okay, come on you big baby," I teased him, "you know they do it. They do have a child."

"Yeah, but knowing it and seeing it are two completely different things. I would prefer to believe that my nephew was born out of immaculate conception."

"Okay, well you might want to leave, unless you want to see it for real," Izzy teased him. His face grew even whiter if that was even possible.

"Iz, I can take Will for you," I said and Simon appeared in the door to hand over the child.

"Great, thanks, now leave." I giggled as I started walking down the hall and the door was shut in Jace's face.

"Babe, stop being the overprotective brother and come with me." He backed away from the door slowly and followed me into the living room. We sat on the couch as Max started to wake up. Jace reached over to take him from my arms. I watched as the man I knew, the strong, confident, arrogant man, turned to mush as the baby smiled up at him. I smiled at the thought of Jace holding our own child.

"Do you want a boy or a girl," I asked.

"I don't care," he said. "As long as the baby is healthy and has your green eyes, I don't care."

"What if it doesn't have green eyes," I teased.

"Well that's a deal breaker," he shot back. "But really, it could have blue hair and purple eyes and I would still love it more than anything in this world."

"Have you thought of any names?"

"Actually, I have. For a girl, Celine. It was my biological mother's name."

"What about a boy?"

"Alexander." My breath caught. It was the first time he had mentioned his brother since the funeral. "I would have wanted to use his name in some way anyways, but now it just feels so much more important." I placed a hand to his cheek and he leaned into it.

"What if we named a girl, Alexandria," I asked. "That way, either way, we honor your brother in some way. Her name could be Alexandria Celine Lightwood."

"I love it," he said as he leaned in to kiss me. Simon and Izzy entered the room looking slightly more put together.

'What are we talking about," Simon asked as he sat down on the couch taking Max from Jace.

"How disgusting you and my sister are," Jace said only slightly joking.

"You're so funny Jace. Anyways, I guess congratulations are in order. Izzy told me you're pregnant."

"Oh, yeah," I said, "Sorry, I wanted to tell you, but your wife can't keep a secret to save her life."

Jace put his hand to my belly. I was about three months along, if I calculated correctly. I had been to the doctor the last week to confirm I really was pregnant and he said I would be due in early April.

"So, we're going to have to stay here for a while," Jace explained. "They aren't close to finding Valentine and this is the safest place for us to be at the moment. Jordan put more squad cars outside and they will get us anything we need."

Simon and Izzy nodded in response. "I couldn't think of anywhere else I would want to be," I said as I looked up into Jace's golden eyes and placed a kiss on his lips.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you're all enjoying the story :) Fell free to leave me a review. Until next time :)_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

* * *

A week later, Jordan still had no leads as to where Valentine and Raphael were hiding. Sebastian was tried for attempted murder, kidnapping and felony larceny. He was sentenced to 25 to life in state prison. For a moment, we could act like our lives weren't completely out of whack as we all lived together in the lake house.

One morning I woke up with a terrible feeling in my stomach. I ran to the bathroom and experienced morning sickness for about the millionth time. It was getting old. I sat on the floor of the bathroom with my head over the toilet. I felt a large hand on my back rubbing circular patterns on my shirt. I turned to see Jace.

"Morning sickness sucks," I said.

"I know," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"You should be. It's all your fault. If you could have just kept it in your pants, I wouldn't be puking my brains out right now."

"Well, excuse me, but I didn't exactly hear you tell me no. Quite the opposite, in fact." I nudged his shoulder while he laughed.

"Its not funny." He pulled me into his arms and followed the length or my arms with his hands.

"Oh, I know, baby. You can blame me all you want because I know you love me and don't mean it."

"Did I give you that impression, because I do mean it and I do blame you." He knew I was teasing now. He smirked and held me on the bathroom floor while I intermittently threw up for the next hour.

The rest of the day passed like any other we had spent in the lake house. Jace made breakfast while Izzy and I took care of Max. After breakfast, we all sat in the living room reading or watching TV. Lunch consisted of left overs from dinner the night before and in the afternoon, we took naps along with Max. Dinner was served around seven and then we all watched a movie.

In the middle of Izzy's favorite movie, _Friends With Benefits_, she voiced her opinion on our situation.

"I'm bored," she huffed. Max was already in his crib sleeping. "All we've done for the past week is watch movies and sit around this house waiting to see if some psycho involved with the mob has put a hit on us."

"What do you purpose we do then, Iz," Jace asked.

"Let's play a game!"

"What kind of game?"

"Let's play 'I never.'"

"Izzy, I can't drink and neither can you for that matter," I told her.

"So the guys can drink double for us."

"Okay, that could be interesting, but I don't want Jace hogging the bathroom in the morning when I need it, so let's just play until they can't stand up straight." We giggled.

"This seems cruel," Simon said. "I feel like you two could do something instead of drink. Oh, you could do strip 'I never.' Instead of drinking, you remove a piece of clothing."

"Gross, that's my sister," Jace huffed. "And knowing her, she'll be out before the game even starts. I would rather not see that."

"Well, we can play until we get down to our bras and panties and stop, then," Izzy said.

"I'm game," I said. "Come on, Jace. It will be fun." I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "If you play, I will let you do unspeakable things to me later." I pulled away, bit my lip and raised my eyebrows.

"Okay, I'm in," he said eagerly.

"I don't even want to know what you just bribed him with," Izzy said.

"Nope, you don't, so let's get started. What are we drinking?"

"Let's go with wine so we don't get too drunk too fast," Simon suggested. Jace went into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of wine and two glasses. He popped the cork and poured two healthy glasses for himself and Simon. He returned to his seat next to me and signaled he was ready to play.

"Okay, I'll go first," Izzy announced. "I never, walked in on our parents having sex in high school." Jace scowled at her and took a drink from his glass.

"Did you really," I asked.

"Yes, and I would really rather not talk about it," he said. "I couldn't look mom in the eye for a month and Alec made fun of me for years." He let out a laugh. "So, I guess it's my turn. Let's see, I never, fell in love with a Lightwood." Simon took a drink from his glass and leaned over to kiss Isabelle.

"Nice, one," I said as I removed a sock, "but you're not getting away with it that easily. Simon, you can go next."

"Okay, I never had sex in my parents' bed," he said. Jace drank from his glass as Izzy and I both removed socks. Simon looked at her with a slightly hurt expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey," she said honestly feeling bad, "but we met long after my rebellious teenager phase when I would do anything to piss off my parents."

He laughed and pulled her in for another kiss. "Clary, it's your turn."

"Okay, I never had six fireball shots at the Christmas party and had to stay in bed all day the next day," I said. Jace laughed as he took another drink of wine. His face was starting to flush and I could tell he was getting close to being full out drunk.

"Did you ever think that I made myself sick so you would have to take care of me?"

"Oh really? And how did that work out for you?" He hung his head low and groaned.

"You made me eat disgusting left over soup Izzy had made." Simon and I both laughed and Izzy looked hurt. "You know you're a terrible cook, Iz."

"I know, but it's not nice to say!"

The game continued for about an hour. Izzy and I were still mostly in tact with our shirts on and Simon and Jace were so far gone, I was surprised they were still awake. Jace knocked over a chair as he stood up from the couch. I managed to catch him before he fell.

"Okay, I think it's time to get you two to bed," I said as Izzy imitated me with Simon and led him up to their room.

"But, we're having so much fun," Jace slurred.

"A little too much if you ask me. Let's go, babe. You really need to sleep this off."

I managed to get him up the stairs and into our bedroom before he flopped down on the bed. I took his pants and shirt off leaving him in only his boxers.

"Are you trying to take advantage of me, Miss Fray," he asked slurring each word. I ignored him.

"Do you think you're going to be sick, Jace," I asked.

"I haven't puked in years, you know that, but I am sick."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sickeningly in love with you." He pointed his finger in my face and I slapped it away as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the bed.

"Jace, no. Go to sleep." I laughed as he tried to kiss me with his breath smelling like wine.

"But, you promised to let me do unspeakable things to you."

"I'm pretty sure if you remember that tomorrow, it will be a miracle."

"I love you so much, Clary. I can't wait to be married to you. I want to have lots of babies with you. Maybe we should get started!"

"Jace, I'm already pregnant! Now go to sleep!" He fell against the bed and fell into a deep sleep. I brushed the hair back from his face and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Sleep tight, my angel."

* * *

Early the next morning, with Jace still asleep in bed, I pulled open the curtains that covered our bedroom window to let the morning sunlight in.

"Good morning, sunshine," I sang at the top of my lungs. "Today is a new day and it's time to get up, up, up." I hit the bed with each word ensuring that Jace would awaken.

"Oh. My. God," he said, "Must you be so energetic in the morning? My head is pounding. Let me go back to sleep."

"No. Come on, I already started the shower for you and I have eggs and bacon cooking downstairs."

"Will you join me in the shower?"

"No sir, you need to take some time to yourself."

"I seem to recall you promising me to let me do unspeakable things to you, to use your words exactly."

"Well, you're just going to have to wait. Get in the shower and get ready and breakfast will be ready by the time you're done."

"Ugh, fine. I still don't understand why you're in such a good mood."

"That would be because I didn't drink a bottle and a half of wine by myself last night."

"Oh, yeah. That's right." He rolled out of bed and dragged himself into the shower.

I rushed downstairs where Izzy was waiting for me. "Okay, he's in the shower. We don't have that much time. Did you get everything?"

"Yeah, it's all here." I grabbed the bags from her and went to work. She stayed where she was, staring at me like I was crazy and I'll admit that I did look a little crazy, but I had my reasons.

Thirty minutes later, Jace was walking down the stairs just as I was putting his plate on the table. He stood in front of it confused.

"I thought you said you were making eggs and bacon," he said.

"I made your favorite, baby," I said. "There's French Toast and your favorite mango chutney."

"Oh, thanks, babe. What's the occasion?"

"Do you know what today is?"

"No, just tell me."

"It's our anniversary, Jace. On this day, three years ago, you kissed me in your kitchen and we went on our first date that night."

"Oh my God. I totally forgot. Clary, I'm so sorry. I promise we can do something special tonight."

"Jace, we can't go out, but we can have our own little date here. Simon and Izzy said they'll stay in their room tonight so we can have the whole house to ourselves. I was thinking we could order in from that café we love down the street and cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie."

"Dinner and a movie? Simple, but effective."

"You're so weird."

"Yeah, but would you have it any other way?" I shook my head as I leaned in to kiss him.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm probably only going to update once or twice a week from now on because I'm going to start having midterms and projects, which totally sucks! _

_So until next time! :)_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

* * *

Jace and I sat at the dining room table with food from our favorite café spread out before us.

"Wow," Jace said, "you can really put it away now that you're pregnant." I furrowed my brows at him in mock annoyance.

"I don't see you complaining," I said.

"I will never complain about you." The song on the radio switched to "Travelin' Soldier" by The Dixie Chicks. I let out a low sigh and closed my eyes.

"I love this song." Jace stood from his seat and reached across the table for my hand. He pulled me into the open space in the living room and pulled me against him. I rested one hand on his shoulder and the other was in his while he held my waist with one of his hands. He began to sway slowly to the rhythm of the music and I rested my head on his chest soaking in the music and lyrics. Jace rested his face on the top of my head mumbling into my hair.

"Let's go for a walk," he whispered.

"Jace, we can't leave," I said pulling away slightly.

"Come on, the house is surrounded and we haven't been outside in almost two weeks. I'm starting to go crazy."

"Where are you wanting to walk to?"

"I think you're just going to have to trust me and wait and see." I smiled knowing the look on his face well as being his mischievous scheming grin. He led me out the back door to the house and followed the path that led right to the water's edge. We walked along the edge of the lake with Jace's arm wrapped around my waist and my head rested on his shoulder. The moonlight reflected off the water and lit the sky. I could see the stars clearly, something that can't be done in the city, and searched for the few constellations I knew.

Jace stopped suddenly turning me to see a path illuminated by torches on each side.

"Jace, what is going on," I asked confused. He smirked pulling me along with him.

"Come on, baby," he said as we followed the path.

"I don't know what's going on, but I do love the company." I pressed my lips against his neck and felt him chuckle and pull me tighter against him. I shivered as the wind nipped against me.

"Are you cold?" He wrapped his arms tighter around me.

"No, I'm fine. Where are we going, Jace?"

"I told you it was a surprise. You really need to learn how to trust me otherwise this whole thing isn't going to work." He smirked at my look of surprise.

"You know I don't like surprises, Jace. Just tell me where we're going."

"Just wait a few more minutes and you'll find out." I gave up and fell silent. His hand came to rest on my belly and I covered his hand with mine. After a few more minutes of silence, we came upon a clearing with a gazebo situated in the middle. Vines and flowers twisted around the poles and dome of the gazebo. Lanterns and torches were situated around the base and a bench sat inside. Me breath caught as I took in the scene.

"How did you…When did you…Why did you…"

"I asked Jordan to help me out and he had the guys set this up today. I felt so bad about forgetting our anniversary and we've been stuck in that house for days, so I wanted to do something special." He turned me to face him and looked me deep in my eyes. "I don't want you to think that I really forgot that day. I remember every single day with you, no matter how insignificant. I remember the day I met you and how you wore your hair in two little braids. I remember the day you found me playing the piano in my parents' house and asked me to play you something. I remember the day I realized I was in love with you and there would never be anyone who compared to you, because no day with you is insignificant and I want you to truly believe when I say that I love you and will never let anything hurt you."

He reached to swipe the tears from my face as I smiled up into his. "I have always believed every word you have said. I love you so much it scares me. I thought I knew what love was when I was with Sebastian. I thought I loved him enough for him to change, but I know now that I was never in love with him because if this is what love feels like, I know that I've never felt it with anyone else. You are the one, Jace Lightwood. The one I want to grow old with and have a family with. I want you to hold me while we sleep because I feel safe in your arms and know no one will ever hurt me as long as you're there."

I wrapped my arms around Jace's neck as his snaked around my waist and lifted me off my feet to meet his lips. The kiss was sweet at first and then deepened as he carried me up the steps to the gazebo and sat us down on the bench. I moved to sit on his lap with my legs straddling his hips. My hands were in his hair and I dropped my head back as his lips traveled down my neck. My breathing was shallow and quick as I brought his head back to meet mine.

"We need to go back, now." He could hear the urgency in my voice.

"No, we don't." He motioned towards the ground where there was a blanket and pillows laid out for us. I smiled against his cheek as I trailed butterfly kisses along his jaw, ending up back at his mouth. He stood, carrying me over to the blankets and laying me down gently on the. The ground was hard and cold against my back, but I didn't care. All I noticed was Jace hovering over me with that look in his eyes. The look that said everything he couldn't say. The look that told me just how much he loved me, just how much he knew he couldn't live without me. He stared at me with golden eyes deep into my soul. I twisted his hair in my fingers and pulled him down to meet my lips. His hands ran up my sides and grasped my waist and my breath caught. My shirt slid with his hands and landed just above my waist. He lowered his mouth to meet my stomach kissing all along it.

"I love you," he whispered. I held his head as his lips ran along my stomach. I felt the wind pick up and I shivered.

"Baby, I know this is really romantic and everything, but I really need to be in a bed right now." He glanced up at me and smirked.

"Do you really think you can wait that long?"

"Jace, I'm pregnant and this is uncomfortable. Please, take me back."

"How can I say no to that face?" I smirked.

"I don't know why you even try." He stood pulling me up with him. When we stood, he bent to grab just below my knees and throw me over his shoulder. I screeched. "Jace, what are you doing? I can walk!"

"Not fast enough." He started running back down the path and along the water back to the house. I laughed as my chest bounced against his back. What took us an hour before, took Jace ten minutes and we came upon the house lit from the inside and Jace rushed inside the door still not putting me down. He ran up the stairs and past Simon and Isabelle's room, which seemed to be silent. Finally, we came to our bedroom and Jace pushed the door open. Stepping inside, Jace slammed the door shut and locked it all in one motion. He threw me down on the bed and stared at me breathing heavily.

I sat up on the edge of the mattress and stared up into his eyes. I ran my fingers along the hem of his shirt and slipped them underneath it. Standing, I slid my hands up his torso, sliding his shirt up and off his body. It was tossed to the side as I trailed my lips along his chest and ran my hands across his toned stomach. He held my head between his hands and brought my lips to meet his once more. His hands fell to my waist then my hips, inching toward my shirt. In one quick motion, my shirt was off and Jace had lowered me back onto the bed, never detaching his mouth from mine. I twisted my hands in his hair and grabbed a handful effectively pulling his head back. He trailed his mouth along my jaw, down my throat and across the sensitive skin on my chest. I held his head against me whimpering in need of him.

"Jace…" I whispered as he came to meet my face. "I need you. I always need you."

"I know." He moved to remove the rest of our clothes and as we lie there bared to each other, I couldn't help but forget everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Nothing mattered, but the man who laid in this bed with me. Nothing would ever matter more than he did and I let myself forget as he moved to cover my body with his.

* * *

Jace lay on his back with one arm behind his head and the other draped over my side. I rested my head on his chest tracing patterns into his skin with my fingers. I traced the lines of his ribs and noticed something new. Just below his ribs, on his side was a tattoo that looked to be fairly new. It had a date: "11-4-10" It was the day we met all those years ago. My eyes began to water as I realized that he couldn't forget because that day didn't just change my life, it changed his.

I pressed my lips to the ink and let the tears fall. Squeezing him tighter into my arms, I felt at home and safe. It didn't matter where we slept or ate or lived. Wherever we were in each other's arms would be home, now and for the rest of our lives. Right now, this lake house surrounded by police, was our home.

"Stop staring at me, It's creepy," Jace whispered through closed eyes.

"I can't help it," I said. "My fiancé/baby daddy is just so dam sexy." I nibbled on this skin just below my mouth. I felt his breath catch and his hand shoot up into my hair.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" He lowered his lips to kiss my hair.

"When did you get this," I asked ignoring his question and running my fingers along his tattoo.

"Today," he answered nonchalantly.

"How the hell did you get it today? We're not supposed to be leaving. How did you get around the security detail?" His hand massaged my scalp under my hair silencing me.

"Will you relax, please? Jordan took me out this afternoon while you were napping because I told him I wanted to get something done for our anniversary."

"Okay." I wrapped my arms tighter around him and threw my leg across him. "I love it, by the way."

"Really? You're not upset that I marked my body forever?"

"Nope. I actually think it's pretty sexy. You're lucky I'm exhausted or else I would probably jump you right now, but I am and I need to sleep, so stop talking." I giggled and buried my face into his chest.

"Whatever, you woke me up," he mumbled into my hair. "Go to sleep, baby." With his hand on my belly and his arms around me, I had the best night's sleep in months.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please fell free to leave me a review and let me know what you think. :)_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**

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I felt something soft brush against my jaw then it became harder and something wet and strong pressed against my neck. My eyes shot open as I realized this wasn't a dream and I saw Jace sucking on my neck. I let my fingers flutter into his hair and grab a handful tugging lightly. With a groan, he lifted his face from my neck and smiled up at me.

"Well, that was some wake up call," I said breathing heavily.

"Good morning, gorgeous," he whispered against my skin. "I love you so much."

I lifted his head to meet my eyes. "I love you, too baby." His lips crashed onto mine and I opened my mouth to his wanting to feel him, taste him. My arms found their way around his neck and his around my waist. He pressed me harder into the mattress as I arched my back to press myself into him. His lips moved from my mouth and brushed along my jaw line and down my neck. Just as he moved his way back to my lips, the doorbell rang. His head turned in the direction of the sound. I grasped his face between my hands and turned him to face me again.

"Ignore it." Pulling his face to meet mine, I kissed him deeply. He kissed back until the doorbell rang again and he pulled away.

"Dammit. Every damn time." I giggled as he pulled himself off of me and crawled off the bed pulling me with him. "Come on, let's go see who it is."

He handed me one of his shirts, which looked like a dress on me and pulled his own pajama bottoms on before we exited the room. He reached down to grasp my hand in his and entangled our fingers together. We walked past the kitchen passing Simon and Isabelle, who were giving us weird looks as we walked past. Jace stopped abruptly in the doorway.

"Did you not hear the doorbell," he asked somewhat annoyed. "Could you not have answered it? We were kind of in the middle of something."

"One," Isabelle said, "gross and two: we were instructed not to answer the door, so kindly fuck off."

"Wow, someone's feisty in the mornings. I feel sorry for you Simon."

"I wouldn't," Simon said looking at the ground with a smirk on his face.

"Okay, that is something I really just didn't need to know." Jace shuddered with a grimace. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to answer the door."

Jace reached out to twist the doorknob and on the other side stood Jordan. He tilted his head in a nod and Jace gestured for him to come inside.

"I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced," Jordan said as we walked through the hallway into the living room and sat on the couch. Simon and Isabelle saw us from the kitchen and joined us sitting on the loveseat across from the couch.

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "What's going on?" There was a pause bfore he explained his visit.

"Well, we found Raphael." I tensed and Jace squeezed my hand tighter. "He got careless and we found him entering a gentlemen's club late last night. He's being held down at the station for questioning, however, he nor Sebastian are giving up any information about Valentine or who else is working for him. We understand that Jonathan Morgenstern, who turns out to be Valentine's son, is close with Sebastian." I nodded in agreement knowing they were best friends, almost brothers. "He was spotted near the barricade this morning and may be trying to enact another one of Valentine's plans. We doubled forces around the house just in case."

"Thank you for keeping us informed, Jordan," Jace said politely. "Is there anything else you need from us?"

"Actually, Raphael is requesting to see Clary." He must have seen the fear in my eyes as he rushed to explain further. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but giving him this one small thing may open him up to giving us more information. You will not be left alone with him, I can assure you."

Jace wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. "Can we have the day to think about it?"

"Of course, of course. You know how to get ahold of me when you decide. One of my officers will escort you to the station if you choose to see Santiago." With that, Jordan, Jace and Simon stood and shook hands walking toward the front door.

I sat frozen on the couch and Isabelle came over to sit next to me. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and hugged me to her.

"Clary, don't worry," she said. "You don't have to do this. Jordan can find some other way to get information out of Raphael." I turned towards her, a smile beginning to stretch across my face.

"No, no," I said. "It's not that. I think I just felt the baby move." Her eyes grew wide. "I don't think you would be able to feel it from the outside but it felt like something in my stomach flipped and shifted. It was amazing."

Tears threatened to make an appearance as Isabelle wrapped her arms around my neck. Simon and Jace entered the room again with confused looks given our current situation.

"What's going on," Simon asked as he sat back down on the loveseat and Isabelle returned to his side tucking her legs up under her. Jace cupped my face between his when he saw tears and stared into my eyes.

"Jace, calm down. I just felt the baby move." He automatically dropped to his knees placing his hands on my stomach. "I don't think you'll be able to feel it, baby. You usually can't feel the baby move from the outside until it starts kicking and that won't be for another couple of months."

"I don't care," Jace said as he stared at my stomach, as if he could will the baby to move with his mind.

"Oh, great. You're going to obsess over this now, aren't you? You're not going to let go of my stomach until you feel it move, aren't you?"

"Why would you say that?" He glanced up at my face momentarily before focusing back on my bump. "I do not obsess over things."

"Oh, really? What about the time you saw _August Rush_? How many hours did you spend practicing the drumming while plucking the strings thing? I woke up one time at three in the morning and you still hadn't come to bed and you were in the living room banging and plucking until you got it right."

"Yeah, but you have to admit that knowing how to do that kind of makes me a badass. Plus, you know what the whole musician thing does to you. You can't blame me for trying to keep that feeling alive." He winked.

"Jace, can you please stop talking about your sex life in front of me," Isabelle asked from the loveseat.

"Hey, Iz, don't you have a newborn child you should be taking care of?"

"He's sleeping, asshole."

"Would you two knock it off," Simon said.

I grasped Jace's face in my hands. "Let go of my stomach before I punch you in the face," I said as sweetly as possible.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." His eyes widened and he lept up from his crouched position.

"I think I felt it!" He danced around the living room. "I told you I would feel it. You were wrong. I was right!"

"Hey, jack ass, you didn't feel it. The baby didn't move." His shoulders fell.

"Why couldn't you just let me believe I felt it?" He knelt before me again and rested his head on my knees. I put my hands in his hair.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. I got a little carried away. Maybe you did feel it, I wasn't really paying attention." He lifted his head.

"Really?"

"Really." He rose up and placed a kiss on my lips and smiled.

"As entertaining as this little spat is," Izzy said, "I think I hear Max, so I'm just going to check on him." She rose from the couch and turned to Simon. "Come on, honey."

"Why do I have to go," he whined.

"Simon, if you don't get off your ass right now, you will never see me naked again." She reached her hand down for him. "Ugh, fine." They exited the room and Jace sat next to me on the couch. His fingers rubbed small circles into my knee.

"So, what are you thinking," he asked.

"I'm thinking that if you don't stop rubbing my knee, I may just have to throw down with you right here, right now." I moved my leg to rest on top of his and drew my bottom lip between my teeth.

"Wow, this whole pregnancy thing is making your hormones crazy." My lips found his neck and I felt him shudder under my touch. I peppered kisses along his jaw until I finally met his mouth crashing my lips to his. He fell back onto the couch with me on top of him. I slung my leg over his hips straddling him and pushing him further down on the couch. I pulled away briefly.

"Yes, and being in a house with you 24/7 is not helping at all." I ran my hands along his chest and rested them on his shoulders. He put his hands on my chest and pushed me away gently.

"Baby, we need to talk about this. You can't just jump me every time you need a distraction." I opened my mouth to respond, but he pressed a finger to my lips to stop me. "I know you're pregnant and your hormones are out of whack, but I think this whole situation is getting to you. You don't have to go see him, but we at least need to talk about it."

I lifted myself off of his chest and sat on my knees with my legs still straddling his hips as he rose to meet me. "If I talk about it, I have to accept that it's real. If I talk about it, I have to accept the fact that you brother died because of me and I just can't do that right now." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest as I lowered my head into his shoulder.

"Honey, Alec dying wasn't your fault. Don't ever think that thought passed through my mind, but, unfortunately, we are going to have to deal with this. You have done so great up until this point and I don't want you to give up. We can't live in this house with Simon and Isabelle, never leaving, with a security detail constantly surrounding us and the fear that Valentine will somehow get to us. I'm not saying you need to go see Raphael, but we do need to at least talk about it."

I lifted my head from his shoulder to look into his golden eyes. "When I received the first envelope, I thought my life was so perfect. I was in love and about to embark on the greatest adventure of my life, but then I got the note and everything fell to shit. I experienced something in that moment that I had never felt before, a sort of motherly protectiveness that I wouldn't let anything happen to this child. I don't want to give up, I just want all of this to be over."

He lowered my head into his shoulder again. "I know, baby. Everything will be over soon. We're getting close, so close." I lifted my head once more and stared deeply into the golden spheres staring back at me. There was no pain or fear or malice in them, only love and adoration. I couldn't disappoint him and our child. Everything I did, from that day on, would be for them. I was going to be a mother and a wife soon. I had to stop being scared and start being the badass I knew I could be.

"I'll do it." He smiled and pulled me into him whispering against my lips before kissing me.

"That's my girl."

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you're all enjoying the story. Feel free to tell me what you think! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

Traffic was heavy in the city as it was Saturday evening. Jace sat beside me in the back of a squad car driven by Jordan. My hands were engulfed by Jace's larger ones as he lifted them to brush his lips across my knuckles. I felt myself shiver against his touch.

"Are you nervous," he asked lowering our hands onto his lap.

"A little," I admit. "I just want this all to be over." I lowered my head to rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to kiss the top of my head. I allowed my eyes to close for the time being trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. The car stopped abruptly and my eyes flew open.

"We're here," Jordan said from the driver's seat. Jace let go of my hands and stepped out of the car coming around my side to help me out. We followed Jordan into the building, through a network of halls and into a room with a window that looked over another room with a table and Raphael.

"It's a one way mirror," Jordan explained. "He can't see us on this side, so he won't know we're in here listening to your conversation. If it starts to get out of hand, I'll get you out of there. You have nothing to worry about." I nodded and he continued. "I'm not going to give you anything specific to say, so you can just let the conversation flow and you can ask anything you want, but just try to get some information out of him."

I spent a few more moments watching Raphael through the window, studying him. He seemed calm and relaxed, not at all worried that he was being held without bail in state prison. I feared I wouldn't be able to crack him. I wasn't an expert in criminal interrogation, so how was I supposed to get any information out of him. I took a deep breath bracing myself and turned toward the door.

"I'm ready," I told Jordan. Jace came up behind me turning me to face him. He cupped my face in his hands and looked me deep in the eyes.

"You can do this," he said. "I love you." He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face into his chest wrapping my arms around his waist. His scent washed over me and a sense of calm overtook me. I released him from my hold and turned once more to the door. Jordan pressed a button to unlock the door and I entered the room.

Raphael had his back turned to me as I walked around to the other side of the table and sat in the chair situated across from him. He smiled when he saw me nervously fidget with the ponytail holder I wore on my wrist. My eyes darted away briefly before he spoke.

"How's being engaged," he asked pointing to my finger.

"I don't really think that's any of your business," I snapped back. He raised his hands in a motion of surrender.

"Okay, so I guess we're not going to engage in small talk. Why don't we just get to the point?" I nodded signaling for him to continue. "He's not going to stop. When Valentine Morgenstern wants something, he gets it and will stop at nothing to do so."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that when he had my fiancé's brother murdered. Just tell me where we can find him and end this. I'm tired of living in hiding."

"The only way you'll be able to take him down is to do it when he's not expecting it, where he has so much security, not even the President could gain access."

"Are you going to tell me where this is or are we just going to sit here all day?"

"He has an exclusive showcase of the year's buys to his highest profile clients every year. He was planning on your friend's stone to be the main exhibit this year and is pretty pissed he still doesn't have it. He's going to use the counterfeit version in order to trick his clients."

"What does this have to do with me?" I was growing impatient and could feel the heat rise to my face in anger.

"This event is so heavily secured and exclusive that he won't expect you to be there, but I'm going to give you my invitation and security clearance so you can all get inside."

"Why would you do that?" Now I was confused. He had literally just kidnapped me for this man a few weeks ago.

"Believe it or not, I want to see Valentine behind bars just as much as you do. He set me up the other day so I would get arrested and take some of the heat off of him."

"Okay, so I get security clearance. What about Jordan and the police?"

"You can let them in from the entrance on the roof. All they have to do is get there by helicopter."

I was done with this conversation and had gotten the information I needed. I rose from my seat and titled my head in his direction.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please give all the information to Lieutenant Kyle."

"You're welcome and good luck," he tilted his head toward the slight bump in my abdomen. I smirked and turned towards the door. At the last moment, I realized I still had one more question I wanted to be answered.

"Oh, wait," I said walking back to my chair, "I want to know how Sebastian got involved in all of this." Raphael's face grew sad as he decided how to tell the story.

"Very few people know that Valentine has a son," he began. "He doesn't go by Morgenstern, but his mother's maiden name of Fairchild. Jonathan was the product of a drunken night and he didn't even know he had a son until Jonathan's mother dropped him off on Valentine's doorstep one day when he was five years old. As the boy grew older, it seemed that nothing he did could satisfy Valentine. He took all the right classes, played all the right sports, but Valentine could never get over the shame he felt for creating him in the first place. A few months ago, Valentine learned that Jonathan's best friend, Sebastian, had an ex-girlfriend who was friends with the girl who owned the stone. He told Jonathan that if he could find some way to get the stone, he would finally have his respect.

"Sebastian jumped at the chance to mess with you, but he had his own agenda. He wanted you back and was using Jonathan to do it. He knew Jonathan wouldn't say no to any plan he enacted because his father's respect was on the line. I didn't know how far he was going to take it."

"Did you know that he used to beat me," I asked feeling the sting of tears in my eyes.

"I only just found out recently. I thought he was just looking for revenge on the man that stole his girl."

"Jace didn't steal me. I chose him, simple as that."

"I know. Sebastian is deranged and I don't condone violence towards women. I'm glad that son of a bitch is behind bars, which is also why I want to help you take down Valentine. I know he will do whatever it takes to get that stone including hurting you. I don't want that to happen especially when there's another life on the line."

I felt the corners of my mouth twitch up into a grin. What was happening? Was I actually starting to understand Raphael? He did seem genuine and was going to help, but after everything he had done to me, I wasn't sure if he deserved forgiveness just yet. Without a word, I walked towards the door and waited for it to be unlocked.

"Clary, please be careful," were the last words he said to me before I walked through the door to the other side of the one-way glass window.

Jace rushed over to me and wrapped me in a warm embrace. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and clutched at his waist. He buried his face into my hair whispering, "I love you."

Jordan patted Jace on the shoulder and said, "Come on. I'll take you guys back to the lake house. It's getting pretty late."

Jace kept his arms around me as he led me to Jordan's squad car.

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It was past one in the morning by the time we got back to the lake house. Jordan had explained what would happen from there. He would get the information about the showcase from Raphael and devise a plan with a special task force and keep us posted.

The clock on the nightstand now read 2:30 and I had no intention of falling asleep. I lay next to Jace, on my back staring at the ceiling. I wasn't sure I could pull off the sort of covert operation Jordan was planning on executing, but knew I at least had to try if I ever wanted my life to go back to normal. I laughed at the thought. When had my life ever been normal? I didn't have a father for most of my life, until my mother married my stepfather, Luke. I was in an abusive relationship for five years and was later stalked by said abuser. Then everything with Valentine happened and I don't think I could say what normal was at this point.

I looked over to the tanned man with golden hair that lay next to me. He was the least normal part of my life. He loved me even with my damaged past. He took me in and protected me from anything and everything. He was the reason I was alive, because I had realized a long time ago that, if Jace hadn't found me and gotten me away from Sebastian when he did, I would likely have died long ago. He saved my life in more ways than one. I loved him so much.

The bed shifted as I saw Jace roll onto his side to face me. "Go to sleep, baby," he whispered in a haze of sleep and dreams.

"I can't," I said, "There's too much on my mind." His eyes opened and he reached out to pull me closer.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You, mostly." He raised his eyebrows and pressed his lips onto my shoulder.

"You're lying."

"How can you tell? Your eyes are closed."

"You think I need my eyes open to tell what's going on with you? I can tell if you're lying or worried or scared just by the sound of your voice." I rolled my eyes. "You just rolled your eyes."

"Okay, this is getting kind of creepy." He chuckled and I could feel the vibration in his chest.

"Now are you going to tell me what you're really thinking about or do I have to force it out of you?" He raised his hand and formed it into the shape of a claw. He brought it down before I even had the chance to react pinching and tickling my sides and stomach. He buried his face into the crook of my neck nibbling and sucking on my skin as I squirmed and laughed trying to get away from him. I finally caught his mouth with mine and the squeezing stopped as I moved my lips in time with his exploring and tasting him.

When we separated, he pressed his forehead against mine and sighed. "Please, talk to me," he whispered.

"I'm just worried I'm going to fail," I admitted in a whisper. His eyes were open now and shone golden in the dark room.

"You won't fail, but you also don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We can find some other way to take down Valentine."

"You know that's not true, Jace. This may be our one chance at getting our lives back and I want that so much. I want to start my life with you and I want to be your wife." My breath caught as he swiped his fingers across my cheek wiping a tear away. "I want our child to grow up in a world without fear and malice and I know that I need to do this now or I may never be able to."

"You're amazing." Jace sat up against the pillows and pulled me with him. I curled into his side and let him rock me. The steady rhythm of his heart sounded like a drum and I suddenly missed the sound of Jace playing the piano.

"Babe," I whispered, "will you play the piano for me. There's one downstairs." He nodded and pulled me out of bed with him. We walked to the music room and saw the baby grand piano situated in the center of the room surrounded by other instruments. There were guitars and violins and a drum set and even a saxophone. Jace held my hand in his, fingers entwined, as he walked over to the piano bench and sat down. I sat next to him with my arms hooked around his. He wiggled his fingers over the keys to check if they were in tune and, seeming satisfied, pressed down on a chord. He played a few aimless chords before settling on a melody.

I recognized the melody as he turned his head to face me. "Will you sing for me," he asked. I could admit to myself that I had a decent voice, but Jace insisted that it was beautiful. It had become something we liked to do together; he played while I sang. I nodded in agreement and shifted to gain the best posture for singing. I listened to the music coming from the piano recognizing where to begin singing.

_Close enough to start a war_

_All that I have is on the floor_

_God only knows what we're fighting for_

_All that I say, you always say more_

I saw Jace close his eyes getting lost in the music.

_I can't keep up with your turning tables_

_Under your thumb I can't breath_

I could feel the familiarity of what the lyrics meant bare down on me and could feel my breath hitch. Following Jace's lead, I closed my eyes feeling the melody and lyrics flow through me.

_I won't let you close enough to hurt me_

_No, I won't rescue you to just desert me_

_I can't give you the heart you think you gave me_

_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables_

_To turning tables_

We moved through the rest of the song and, when the last note played out, Jace wrapped me in his arms as soft sobs escaped me. I let exhaustion take me over as he rocked me on the piano bench and let him carry me back upstairs to bed. As the last tears rolled down my cheek, I felt Jace swipe away the tears and I fell into a deep sleep.

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I really liked writing this chapter so I hope you all enjoyed it. _

_Song: Turning Tables by Adele_

_All lyrics belong to Adele_

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**


	12. Chapter 12

Jace walked into the kitchen scratching his head with his golden hair in a tangled mess one morning wondering what all the noise was from. I was sitting on the counter watching the chaos unfold as he walked in.

"You know," he said, "some people like to sleep this early in the morning."

Izzy snarled at him from behind the refrigerator door. She had on a red apron that wrapped around her waist and a dish towel flung over her shoulder. Flour covered her face and there were handprints along her arms.

"Oh, God. Is Izzy cooking? I thought we banned her from the kitchen after she almost burned the house down last week." I giggled as he came around the counter to stand in front of me, between my dangling legs, against the counter. He gave me a quick peck on the lips and turned to face the madness with his arms crossed. I placed my hands on his shoulders and, feeling the tension in them, began to massage the knots out.

"She said she wanted to cook a big dinner for us," I explained.

"But, why? Doesn't she know she could kill us? Do you, Iz? Do you realize what you're risking by setting foot in a kitchen?"

"Shut up, asshole," she said slapping him across the arm. He flinched and I ran my fingers lightly against the handprint forming on his bare shoulder. He shuddered catching my hand and bringing it to his lips. "Maybe you've decided to completely toss tradition out the window, but I haven't."

He looked confused, so I answered his unasked question. "Its Thanksgiving, babe. You know, turkey and pilgrims and mashed potatoes."

"No way, its already Thanksgiving? How long have we been here?"

"46 days, not that I'm counting," Izzy informed him.

"Wow, I hadn't realized it had been that long, but why is Izzy cooking? At least if Clary cooks we won't die."

"Because I'm honestly really scared of her right now," Simon said entering the room with Max propped up against his chest. "She had this crazy look in her eyes last night and I thought she might kill me if I said no. I haven't seen her this excited since she painted, decorated and furnished Max's room all in one day. It's best if we just leave her."

I wrapped my arms around Jace's neck and my legs around his waist as he pulled me from the counter and carried me on his back following Simon out of the room. He had a football game on the TV and Jace let me off of him just before he slumped into the couch.

"Really," I asked indignantly, "you two are going to watch football all day?"

"Sorry, babe," Jace replied, "its a tradition. We need to clear our minds with mind-numbing sports in order to prepare for the massive amounts of food we are about to consume, especially since Izzy is cooking and we might all die tonight."

I gave in and snuggled up against him as he placed his arm around the back of the couch and rested his hand on my shoulder. I could feel the vibrations in his chest as he yelled at the TV, unsatisfied with the play or call. Max began to cry from his playpen set up in the center of the room, so I went over to him, picked him up and bounced around the room trying to soothe him. I saw Jace smile at me out of the corner of my eye and smiled to myself. Once Max finally calmed down, I sat back down on the couch next to Jace. He leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"Your belly looks especially plump today," he whispered.

"Um, thank you," I said confused. "That's not really something you want to tell a woman, especially a pregnant woman." He laughed and shook his head.

"I think it's sexy." He traced the line of my jaw with his mouth and landed on mine with a bruising pressure. I heard someone clear their throat across the room.

"You do realize you're holding my infant son, right," Simon asked with a raised eyebrow. I pulled away from Jace and could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. Jace took Max from my arms and handed him to Simon. He took my hand and led me out of the room.

Once we were inside our bedroom with the door closed, he pushed me against it and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His face was buried into my neck and I couldn't help the heaviness of my breath as he sucked the sensitive skin into his mouth. I let out an involuntary moan and could feel him smile against me.

"Jace," I whispered between breaths. "We can't do this now." His grip on my thighs tightened as he carried me over to the bed and fell on top of me gracefully. He pushed the hem of my shirt up to reveal my belly and placed tender kisses along it.

"Why not," he asked against me. My fingers fluttered into his hair as my eyes closed. I had to concentrate to find the answer.

"Because your sister is out there about the burn the house down." He chuckled as he ran his lips up my body to meet mine once more. That was it. I was done for. I couldn't resist wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him tighter to me. I grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged lightly eliciting a groan from the back of his throat. He broke away quickly to remove his shirt and collapsed back on top of me. His hand disappeared underneath my shirt and wrapped around my breast squeezing and kneading the sensitive skin as I let out moans of encouragement.

With his hand still under my shirt, his lips traced the line across my jaw and down my throat. I subconsciously knew he was marking me, but I couldn't be mad about that now. I held his head to my neck so he would continue exactly what he was doing. Just as his hand reached the button on my jeans, there was a knock on the door.

"Dinner is ready," Izzy yelled through the door.

Jace dropped his head to my shoulder. "Why is my sister such a cock block," he mumbled into my shoulder and lifted his head to meet my eyes once more placing a kiss to my lips. "I guess we'll have to continue this later." With a wink, he crawled off of me and sat at the edge of the bed. I lie there watching him and run my foot up and down his back.

"You're really not helping my efforts right now," he said turning his head over his shoulder. I giggled knowing exactly what he was talking about, but continued my teasing until he turned and grabbed my foot and throwing my leg back over his hip and collapsing on top of me. He planted a heavy deep kiss on my lips and I whimpered. Another knock on the door brought me back to reality.

"Okay," I said between breaths. "We really need to go." Jace rolled off of me with a grunt of frustration.

"Fine, but you need to go first so I don't get distracted." I laughed and climbed off the bed straightening my shirt and exiting the room.

The kitchen was a disaster. Flour covered the cabinets and the stove was covered in unidentifiable goo that could possibly be gravy. I walked up to Izzy with a shocked look on my face.

"What the hell happened in here," I asked.

"So I'm not the cleanest cook in the world, sue me," she shrugged.

"You realize you're cleaning this up, right?" Jace came in and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Holy shit," was all he could say.

"Will you two stop being so dramatic and go to the table so we can eat?"

I took Jace's hand in mine and led him to the dining room for dinner. The scene was a million times better. In the center of the table was a large, browned turkey that didn't look like it would kill us at all, I hoped. Around the turkey, the sides were situated in a circle. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, a gravy boat full of gravy and a pumpkin pie sat on the table ready to be eaten. We took our seats and waiting for Isabelle to instruct us on what to do. She stood in front of her chair with her hands clasped in front of her.

"I'm not one for making huge speeches," she began, "but today is about thanks. I am thankful for my husband who puts up with my craziness every day and somehow loves me. Who gave me a son and loves him more than anything. I'm thankful for my son who showed me that there is something worth living for in this crazy, messed up world. I'm thankful for my brothers who never let me get away with anything and kept me grounded. I'm even thankful for this house, even though we've been stuck here for a month, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else on this day. Most of all, I'm thankful for you, Clary, because, without you, I would have never met Simon and wouldn't have the life I have today. You have become the best friend I could ask for and you have made my brother a better person."

My eyes were full to the brim with tears as I walked around the table and wrapped my arms around her. We stood there for a few minutes before Izzy pulled away.

"Dammit, you made me cry," she scolded me.

I just laughed wiping the tears from my eyes and sat back down next to Jace. Isabelle told Simon to carve the turkey and we all loaded our plates with food. Jace and I stared at our plates remembering what a terrible cook his sister was. We watched as Simon took a bite of his food and, seeing as he hadn't died yet, took a bite ourselves. We looked at each other in shock.

"Isabelle," Jace said, "this is amazing! How the hell did you do this?"

"Just goes to show you that I can do anything I set my mind to," she scoffed.

We were silent the rest of the meal eating furiously and going back for more. By the time we had finished, I felt like I was growing a second baby and was trying not to doze off. Jace had his hand on my belly as we all told stories of our childhoods and told what we were thankful for.

When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I nudged Jace letting him know it was time to go to bed. He led me upstairs after thanking Izzy for a lovely dinner and got me to bed. I didn't even change my clothes before flopping onto the mattress. A few minutes later, Jace curled up next to me with only pajama pants on. He was tracing patterns with his finger in my arm and periodically placing sweet kisses on my skin.

"Do you know what I'm thankful for," he whispered in my ear.

"I swear if you say something dirty, I will hit you," I said.

"You know me too well, but no, I wasn't going to say anything dirty. I was going to say I'm thankful for Sebastian." My eyes flew open and I sat up. "No, no, no. Don't take that the wrong way. I hate the guy and would love nothing more than to knock him unconscious again, but he gave me you. If he hadn't treated you that way, you would have never left and we wouldn't be together. He gave me the two most important things in my life. You and our baby are the most important things in my life and I love you more and more every day."

"Good save. Now shut up and kiss me."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I know it's been a while, but finals are coming up and I've been ridiculously busy. I should update sometime next week because I'm sure I'll need a study break at some point. I hope you're all enjoying my story and feel free to drop me a review! :)_

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Ugh, the dress doesn't fit!"

I was trying to get ready for the ball a week later when my growing bump prevented me from zipping my dress. Maybe we should have actually tried on the dresses before we bought them, but I didn't think my size had changed that much.

"Babe, you're four months pregnant," Jace was sitting on the bed facing me.

"No, shit Sherlock." I knew I was being unreasonable. This wasn't his fault, well technically it was, but we had come too far for the plan to fail because my dress doesn't fit. Jace stood up from the bed and came up behind me.

"Here let me help," he said grabbing the zipper. I sucked my stomach in as much as I could, but he had no luck. "Do you have a jacket or something you could wear over it?"

"No, Jace. This is the one thing that I thought would go right tonight and now I don't have a dress." He turned and left the room. "Where the hell do you think you're going? This is all your fault! Isabelle!"

Isabelle came into the room looking frantic. She already had her dress on and hair done. She looked like she walked right out of a magazine.

"Dammit, Iz. Why do you always have to look so damn good?" She smirked and came to stand beside me in front of the full-length mirror. She tried with all her might to zip my dress, but it didn't budge.

"I don't know what to tell you, hon," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed where Jace had been sitting. My hair was curled and swept into and updo that Isabelle had used about fifty bobby pins to secure. She also gave me that smoky eye look with deep purples, which intensified the green in my eyes. From the neck up, I looked like I was ready to run the catwalk in Milan.

"Listen," Izzy said as she came to rub my back trying to calm me down, "we'll figure something out. We still have a few hours until we have to leave."

"I just wanted to wear a beautiful dress and end the fucking nightmare that is Valentine Morgenstern."

I heard someone enter the room, but I was still upset with Jace for walking out so I remained facing the mirror. He cleared his throat and I finally turned around. He was holding a black garment bag.

"I thought maybe you could wear this instead," he said shrugging his shoulders.

I walked over to him and unzipped the bag. The dress he brought me was a deep purple color. It was a Grecian style dress with an empire waist and one shoulder. The fabric flowed over my growing bump. I reached up to wipe a tear away.

"How did you do this," I whispered.

"I had Jordan take me into town just now," he explained. "I couldn't stand you being upset, especially since you have no reason to be. You're beautiful to me no matter what. It's not just an opinion, it's a fact. Now go put this dress on and we can show the world how beautiful you are."

I reached up and pulled his face to meet mine. I was sure I was going to have to redo my makeup, damned pregnancy hormones.

"Why are you so perfect?"

"I'm not, you just think I am because you love me."

"Oh, so I'm blinded by love?"

"Exactly." He smiled and kissed me once more before turning me and pushing me toward the bathroom. The dress fit perfectly and as I looked at myself in the mirror, I wished I wasn't wearing this dress to try and capture the person who was making our lives a living Hell. I imagined myself in a wedding dress and wished I wouldn't be pregnant on my wedding day, but Jace was insistent. I took one last deep breath and exited the bathroom. Jace was sitting on the bed once again and sucked in a breath when he lifted his head and saw me. Before I could ask what he thought, I was being lifted into the air and Jace had his lips on my neck. My hands went automatically to his hair and I moaned as he traced the line of my jaw and stopped when his lips met mine.

"I love you." He kissed me. "You look beautiful." Another kiss and a throat cleared bringing us back down to Earth. I had half a mind to forget this whole plan and just spend the entire night in bed with my sexy-as-fuck fiancé. I turned to see Isabelle waiting for us.

"The limo is here," she explained. Jace wrapped his hand around mine and led me out the door and helped me into the car. He didn't take his hand off of my stomach the entire ride. Every few minutes, he would whisper in my ear and kiss my temple. God, I could not wait to get this over with and take him home.

The drive to the ball was quick considering the fact that I fell asleep in the car. We pulled up to the skyscraper that I assumed was Valentine's headquarters and Jace helped me out of the limo. Jordan came up behind us to explain how everything would happen.

"Okay," he began, "here are your security clearances and invitations. We are going to helicopter onto the roof and get in that way. All we need you to do is talk to Valentine and convince him to go up to the roof with you. Try and keep Isabelle by your side at all times and we will have guards stationed at all corners of the room." He glanced at me to make sure I understood. "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

Jordan turned the other way as Jace put his hand on my lower back to guide me toward the entrance.

"Everything is going to be okay," Jace whispered in my ear. I nodded, not able to form words at the moment.

We handed our invitations to the guard at the door and were searched by a metal detector before we were allowed into the main ballroom.

"Holy shit," Isabelle gasped as we walked into the ballroom. The room was lined with displays holding the most beautiful jewels I had ever seen. There was a dance floor and a band playing classic songs. At the front of the room sat a long table with Valentine and his minions sitting comfortably. I saw Jonathan sitting next to his father pointing to me, so much for laying low. I saw Simon twirl Izzy onto the dance floor and felt Jace do the same. He pulled me tight against his chest and I could hear his heart beating faster than normal. His phone rang in his pocket, indicating he had received a text message.

"Jordan says they're ready when we are," he whispered. I nodded once more as the music stopped and Valentine's voice came over the speakers.

"Good evening everyone," he said. "If you would all find your tables, we can begin dinner."

We sat down at the nearest table and were served our dinner, chorizo stuffed quail with Spanish rice. I had absolutely no appetite. My plate was cleared quickly and I felt Jace place his hand on my knee.

"I think we need to get this show on the road," Jace said. Just as I nodded and started to get up from the table, Valentine appeared behind me.

"Excuse me," he greeted, "may I have this dance?" He offered me his hand and I unwillingly took it glancing back at Jace. He took Isabelle's hand and followed us out to the dance floor.

"I would like to know why you and your friends are here," Valentine said.

"Raphael obviously couldn't come, so he gave us his invitation so we could give you Isabelle's necklace," I said innocently.

"So where is it?"

"We have I, but I'm sure you wouldn't want us to give it to you here where everyone can see that the one you have on display over there isn't the real one. Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"

"Okay then meet me on the roof in twenty minutes." We parted ways as I went to find Jace and Isabelle. I cut into their dance.

"We're good to go," I said. Jace took my hand in his and Isabelle's in the other. We passed Simon and he followed us to the elevator, which would take us to the roof. Jace gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, baby. As soon as Valentine steps foot on that roof, Jordan and the rest of the guys will be there to take him down."

The elevator stopped and we exited onto the roof where there was a roof top garden. In the center of the roof stood a gazebo, much like the one Jace took me to in the woods, where Valentine was waiting. Something was off, I could feel it. Jordan should have pounced by now. As we got closer, Valentine turned around to reveal that he was holding Jordan in front of himself with a gun pointed at his head. Jace lunged forward and Valentine pointed the gun at Jace.

"Don't even think about it," Valentine said with an evil laugh. "Did you really think that I wouldn't catch on to what you were planning? Haven't you heard that when Valentine Morgenstern wants something, he gets it? Now where is the necklace?"

I started fidgeting, trying to figure out what we were going to do. We didn't have the necklace, it was still at the police station in the safe where Jordan had put it.

"We don't have it," Isabelle finally exclaimed.

"When will you people learn to just give up? I think I've been pretty generous up to this point, but I am going to need that necklace."

"You think killing my brother is being generous," Jace blurted out.

"Honestly, yes."

"Well we don't have it, so I don't know what you want us to do," I said.

"I guess I will just have to take some collateral with me."

"What do you mean? We don't have anything to give you," Jace pushed me and Isabelle behind him and Simon grabbed Izzy's arm.

"I will take your precious fiancé with me until you can retrieve the necklace and give me what I want. Don't worry, no harm will come to her unless you try to fool me again."

Jace opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. "I'll go."

"Are you fucking crazy," Jace yelled. "No, I'm not letting you leave with a fucking psychopath who killed my brother. It's not happening."

I turned to Jace and for a moment, we were the only ones on the rooftop. "Jace, I have to do this. We need this to end and it's not going to until he gets what he wants. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, so please just do what he asks."

I could see tears welling up in his eyes as he shook his head furiously and pulled me into his arms. His body was shaking and not just from the cold. When he finally let go of me, I glanced over to Isabelle and Simon who also had tears in their eyes. I smiled and winked at them as I walked toward Valentine. I wasn't more than three feet away when Jordan yelled out.

"Clary, duck!" Jordan grabbed the arm that was holding him against Valentine and twisted out of his grasp. He was able to get the gun out of Valentine's hand and point it at him. "Valentine Morgenstern, you are under arrest for the murder of Alec Lightwood."

A gun went off and we all dropped to the floor. I heard a scream that I recognized as Isabelle's. Another gun went off and I looked in the direction of where the bullet went and saw Jonathan slumped over a bush. I glanced back over toward the gazebo and saw Jordan cuffing Valentine.

"Clary…" Just above a whisper, I heard Jace call out for me.

"Oh my God," I collapsed next to him and saw the blood pooling around his body. I couldn't tell where the bullet hit, but I knew it had to be bad. "Someone call an ambulance!"

"There's a helicopter on the way, Clary," Jordan said as he stood Valentine up and guided him toward the edge of the roof and read him his Miranda rights. "It will be here in a few minutes. Put some pressure on the wound."

"Simon, take your shirt off," Isabelle said as she came up next to us. I was having trouble functioning like a normal human being at the moment. Simon took his shirt off and handed it to Izzy, who then balled it up and pressed it to the wound. It was soaked immediately. There was no stopping the flood of tears coming from my eyes as I clutched Jace to me.

"Jace, you need to stay awake, baby," I kept repeating that until he replied.

"I love you, Clary," he said. He took a few more shallow breaths and closed his eyes.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, let me know why you think. I'm pretty sure there's going to be three or four more chapters before an epilogue. Again thanks for reading, I really appreciate it! :)_

**Disclaimer:I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters.**


	14. Chapter 14

I don't remember much from that night. I remember Jace closing his eyes and being taken away in a helicopter, but after that, it's all kind of a blur. They let me ride in the helicopter with him, but I don't remember how Isabelle and Simon got to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, Jace was immediately taken into surgery and I haven't seen him since. The walls in the hospital were so lifeless and I was getting bored with counting the tiles in the ceiling. I don't remember Jace's parents showing up, but we must have been there a long time for them to have time to get here. Isabelle tried to talk to me and comfort me, but it was no use. I wouldn't be comforted until I saw those golden eyes open again.

"Clary honey," it was Maryse. "You need to eat something. When was the last time you ate?" I shrugged because I didn't have the energy to even form words. "Well we've been here for almost twelve hours and I haven't seen you move from that spot, so come on. We're going to go get some food."

"I can't," I said for the first time in hours. "I can't leave. What if the doctor comes in to tell us something and I'm not here? I have to be here when a doctor has information. I can't leave."

I think she understood. He was my fiancé, but that was her son in there lying on an operating table. She had already lost one son, I can't imagine how hard this must have been for her. A few minutes later, though, Simon and Robert came through the doors with food for all of us. I reluctantly ate what they gave me and felt my energy rise as I did. The baby was obviously hungry because I ended up eating most of Simon's food as well.

About an hour later, a doctor came through the double doors that led to the rooms and operating rooms. "Lightwood," he called out. "Jonathan Lightwood."

I jumped up at the sound of his name. "Yes, can you tell us what's going on?"

"Are you family?"

"Yes, he's my fiancé and these are his parents and that's his sister. So now that we've got the introductions out of the way, can you please tell me what's going on?"

He gave a small chuckle. "Well then, I'm Dr. Gray and I was operating on your fiancé. The bullet just barely missed some of his vital organs, so that was good news. We just had to get the bullet out and make sure nothing was punctured. He lost a lot of blood so he's going to take a while to get back to normal. He's stable now, but he's not awake yet. You can go in and see him, if you'd like." We all rushed towards the door. "No more than two at a time please."

Simon and Isabelle went in first. We all stood outside the door waiting for our turn. When they came out of the room, Simon was having to hold Isabelle up as she cied and sobbed. Next, Robert and Maryse went in because they knew, once I went in, I wasn't coming out until he woke up. About ten minutes later, they left and motioned for me to go in.

I stood outside the door for a few more minutes, nervous. Why was I so nervous? The doctor said he was going to be fine, but the thought of Jace lying in a hospital bed wrenched my gut. I had to take deep breaths to hold back the tears. After one more deep breath, I pushed the door open and went into the room.

Jace had his own room with a bed centered in the middle of the floor. I could hear the faint beep of the machines monitoring his heart. He was lying on his back with his hands to his sides. I could see all the tubes and wires coming out of his arms administering medications. In this position, he looked younger, not like the strong confident man I had come to love. I walked up to the side of the bed and pushed his hair back from his face and pressed my lips to his forehead. I felt a tear escape my eye and it fell on his cheek. I quickly swiped it away.

I pulled a chair to the side of his bed and sat down taking hold of his hand in both of mine. I heard someone walk in, but my gaze never left Jace's face, almost as if I could will him to open his eyes. Maybe if I stared at him long enough, he would wake up. A girl can only hope. The nurse came to the other side of the bed to make sure everything was in place.

"You know," she whispered bringing me out of my trance like state. "He can probably hear you. I mean, that's what they say. I'm not completely sure if it's true, but I like to think it is. You should talk to him." She gave me a small smile as she exited the room.

I brought Jace's hand to my mouth and kissed it. What was I supposed to say? There was no way I could put into words just how much I loved him and needed him in my life. I decided to just say what was on my mind. It might not make sense, but it was something.

"Jace, baby," I began. "Can you hear me? If you can hear me just move a finger or something." I waited a moment, but nothing happened. "Well anyways, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you. You have been so strong for me since the day we met, but it's my turn to be strong for you. I never thought I would be sitting next to you lying in a hospital bed. Sure, I imagined the roles reversed when the baby came, but there was never the underlying danger that there is right now. Jordan said they were able to arrest Valentine and there's no way he can get out of a lifetime sentence, so maybe our lives will go back to normal. I know what you're thinking. Our lives will never be normal, but maybe we can make our own normal. In a few months, we're going to have a baby and I know I'm going to love it so much because I love it's daddy so much." I began to cry thinking about raising a child without him. "Jace, I can't do this without you. You have to wake up, we need you."

I broke down into uncontrollable sobs and rested my head against my hands wrapped around Jace's. I needed to feel his arms wrapped around me. I needed to hear him tell me everything was going to be okay. I stood up and lifted his arm and got into bed with him. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder and curled into his side.

"Everything is going to be okay," I had to try and convince myself. I felt my eyes getting heavier by the second and finally let myself sleep for the first time since we arrived at the hospital.

I was awoken by four people standing around the bed. Robert, Maryse, Simon and Isabelle were all looking at me like I had just kicked the dog.

"Oh, sorry, I must had fallen asleep," I tried to apologize. Their faces relaxed into smiles. I tried to get up from the bed, but was held down by a strong arm. I hadn't even looked at Jace since I woke up because of the distraction, but then I felt lips press into the top of my head and I whipped around to see Jace's golden eyes searing into me.

"Oh my God, you're awake," I choked back a sob as I wrapped my arms around Jace's neck. He winced and I let go abruptly. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. God, I love you." I pressed my lips to his and deepened the kiss. I heard Isabelle say something about them leaving and going home, to their actual home, but I really didn't care. The door clicked and I finally pulled away.

"Good tactics," Jace smirked. "Maul me in front of my family and they're sure to go away." I felt the heat rise to my face as it turned the same color as my hair.

"Oh my God, I wasn't even thinking about them. I was just so excited to see your eyes." He smiled at me with that smile that made my insides melt. "How long have you been awake?"

"A few hours—"

"A few hours? Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful and my parents said you hadn't slept since I've been here and that's not good for the baby, Clary. So I let you sleep."

"Ugh, you're lucky I like when you get all concerned about the baby or I would hit you so hard right now."

"Nope, you can't. I have a gunshot wound. You have to be nice to me." Another smirk was sent my way. Oh, I would show him just how nice I could be.

"I almost forgot about that. How is it? Does it hurt?"

"It's fine. It only hurts when I breath or when pretty little redheads have their hands resting on it." I looked down at my hands and noticed that they were in fact on his wound. I pulled them back quickly.

"Why didn't you say something? I don't want to hurt you, Jace. You need to tell me these things."

"I just want your hands on me. I don't care where they are as long as those fingers are touching my skin."

"You are so weird."

"Hey, I can handle pain and misery, but to know that you aren't there would be worse than any pain or torture I could endure." He was really the sweetest. I pressed my lips against his once more. "So how is the little nugget?" He moved a hand to rest on my belly.

"Good, missing his daddy." Jace then began whispering to my stomach and telling the baby ridiculous things about life. Dr. Gray walked in and I suddenly felt the need to get off of the bed. I'm sure it was frowned upon to have anyone in the bed other than the patient.

"Hello, Mr. Lightwood," he greeted. "Well I think you've been in here long enough. If you pass the necessary tests, I will sign off on your discharge papers and you can go home."

"Perfect, let's get those done as quickly as possible please. I would like to get home and love on my hot fiancé all night long." My face immediately turned crimson as Jace told his plans to his doctor. Dr. Gray chuckled and gave a nurse some paperwork to fill out. He then went through the procedures of cleaning Jace's wound and medications he would have to take. I was going to have to take care of Jace for the next few weeks until he got back up on his feet. By the time Dr. Gray had finished explaining everything to me, the nurse told him that Jace was ready to go. Dr. Gray signed his discharge papers and sent to have a wheelchair readied for him.

Jace looked over to me and patted the bed next to him. I happily obliged and sat next to him. "When can we find out what we're having," he asked quietly. I was shocked. I didn't realize he wanted to know.

"Well they usually say they can tell at seventeen weeks and I'm about nineteen weeks along," I said.

"So we can find out now?" I nodded. "Can we find out before we go home?"

"If the doctor says its okay, then yes, but you're not getting out of that wheelchair."

He scoffed at my ridiculous demands. When the nurse came back into the room, Jace asked if it would be possible to get a sonogram done before we left and find out the sex of the baby. She said she would make it happen.

An hour later, I was lying on an exam table with Jace next to me in a wheelchair waiting for the doctor to come in. Jace interlaced our fingers together and gave my hand a squeeze as the doorknob turned and revealed the doctor.

"Alright, let's take a look at that baby," she said smiling. She lifted my shirt and squeezed the gel onto my stomach. I gasped when the cold liquid hit my skin. She then started moving the wand over my stomach to try and find the baby. When she stopped suddenly, Jace and I heard a loud thumping noise. The doctor smiled up at us and pointed to the screen. "That is your baby and you are listening to the heartbeat."

I glanced over at Jace and saw tears forming as he heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. We sat there in awe for what seemed like hours before the doctor printed out pictures and handed them to Jace. He pressed his lips against my forehead and I could feel him smile.

"Okay, did you want to know the sex of the baby?"

We both nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

_A/N: So I was studying for my World Religions final tomorrow and suddenly felt like I should be writing instead. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I just couldn't hold on to it, so I decided to post it because I might not be able to post for a while. I hope you are all still enjoying the story! I don't know how much longer the story will be, but I'll try to keep it going for at least a few more chapters. :)_


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey, baby," I felt Jace wrap his arms around my waist and whisper in my ear. "What are you doing?"

I was looking out the window of the baby's room, thinking about what today was. Today was the day that Valentine Morgenstern would finally receive his sentence. For three months, Valentine had stood in front of a jury trying to defend himself. We were all called to the stand to testify, but I didn't want to be there today. I had told my story and given the reasons he should be locked up for good and, as far as I'm concerned, I will never have to see him again. Raphael had his sentence reduced for the information he provided and his cooperation with the operation. He would be released from jail in a few weeks, but I was worried about him bothering us anymore. In fact, I actually thought he had changed. In any case, he would be placed in witness protection and I would probably never see him again either.

The feeling of Jace's lips on my neck brought me back from my daze. "I was planning on just staying in today and decorating the baby's room," I finally told him. At the mention of the baby, Jace moved his hands to hold my huge belly. The baby would be here in less than two months and we still had a lot to do. Isabelle threw me a baby shower where I got basically everything I could ever think of or need.

"Do you want to watch the verdict with me?" I sighed audibly.

"I don't want to watch anything but the verdict itself. I would rather not listen to him try to defend his actions. He killed your brother for God's sake."

"Okay, Clary. Do you want some help with decorating?" I nodded and he handed me a box with "Alexandria Celine" painted across it. Three of the walls were painted a light purple color and the far wall had a white chevron pattern covering the it. Jace had set up a white crib and changing table along the far side of the room. The floor was covered in a light gray, shaggy rug and a rocking chair was situated in the corner.

After two more hours of situating and straightening, I was satisfied with the nursery. Jace wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me from the room. He led me to the living room, where he sat me on the couch and went into the kitchen.

"What do you want for dinner, babe," he asked from behind the refrigerator.

"Ice cream," I replied nonchalantly. It wasn't unusual for me to want ice cream at any time of the day lately. He chuckled and brought me the pint of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream he always kept on hand. I dug into the sweet and tart ice cream as Jace lifted my feet and sat down. Removing my slippers, he turned the television on and turned the court case on.

I watched as Valentine stood in front of a judge and received his sentence. I think Jace felt me tense because he started rubbing my feet, trying to relax me.

"Valentine Morgenstern," the judge began, "you have been charged with the murder of Alexander Lightwood, the kidnapping of Clarissa Fray and attempted felony larceny. The jury will now give their verdict." My breath caught in my throat. This was it. I was fairly certain there was no way he could be found innocent, but a man like Valentine has his ways of getting what he wants. The lead juror stood to announce their decision.

"We the people of the jury find Valentine Morgenstern," she paused for effect, "guilty on all charges." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as Jace clapped loudly and ran his hands along my legs. I could feel tears filling my eyes, as I realized it was really over. We had endured the most horrific four months of our lives and I couldn't have been happier in that moment. The sound of the judge's voice brought me back to reality.

"You have been found guilty by a jury of your peers and are hereby sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without parole." He banged his gavel and I watched as a balif placed handcuffs around Valentine's wrists and guided him toward the holding cell.

I couldn't hold it back anymore, I was sobbing. Jace had the widest smile on his face as he pulled me onto his lap.

"Hey, baby," he cooed, "it's over. He is going to rot in prison for everything he did to us. We can finally live our lives the way we intended to."

"No, I know," I told him through my tears. "It's just that these past four months have been awful, but we made it through. I just love you so much and I almost lost you because of that man. I'm just really happy that we won't have to deal with that anymore."

Jace pulled me tighter into his arms and kissed my forehead. I lifted up his shirt to reveal his scars. I ran my fingers across the bullet wound and he sucked in a breath. It wasn't easy when we first came home. I had to basically wait on Jace hand and foot, but lately he has been the one doing the waiting.

He kissed me hungrily and I shifted to straddle him on the couch. I felt his hands all over my hyper-sensitive body. He pulled away, gasping for air.

"I invited my sister over," he said quickly. "I thought we could all celebrate after the verdict."

"Okay," I said through gritted teeth. "When will she be here?"

"In about ten minutes."

I smiled seductively up at him. "Well then, you have about five minutes to get your shit together." He smiled back at me and wasted no time removing my clothes and taking me right there on the couch. He had me reaching ecstasy within minutes. When we were finished, I sat up, breathing heavily. "Wow."

"Yeah." He laughed and kissed the top of my head. "Get your clothes on. There will be a child here shortly."

We hastily straightened ourselves out just seconds before we heard the doorbell ring. Jace reached out to fix my hair and I did the same for him. We greeted Isabelle, Simon and Max at the door.

"Hey," Izzy said flippantly, pushing past us with Max in her arms.

"It's good to see you, too, little sister," Jace called over his shoulder as he shook Simon's hand.

"Sorry," he apologized for his wife, "Max was up all night last night and then we went to the hearing and were bombarded by reporters. She's a little on edge."

"It's fine," I said, "we're just glad you're here."

We followed Izzy into the living room where she was standing with a confused look on her face. "Something is different," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, do tell, Isabelle," Jace said sarcastically, "What is different about my living room?"

"It just feels like something dirty happened here." I felt my face turn a dark red to match my hair and she pointed at me with he mouth agape. "I knew it! Your face turns so red when you've committed carnal sin. So how long ago were you two getting down in here?"

"Oh my God, Isabelle. Why do you want to know that? I am your brother, you know?"

"Yes, but she is my best friend and before I let my son sit on the floor, I want to know if it's clean."

I stared at the floor and answered her question. "About ten minutes ago." Jace looked at me and smirked. "What? She wanted an honest answer. Maybe now she'll stop asking such personal questions."

"Oh, Clary. It's not like you don't know every place Simon and I have had sex."

"I don't ask you Isabelle, you just tell me and if you don't want Max anywhere we've had sex, don't put him on your bathroom counter, your kitchen counter, your lawn chairs in your backyard, your pool, and, oh, your bed."

"Our bed? When?"

"When you went on your honeymoon and you asked us to house sit, we decided we should christen your new house." I smirked and glanced at Jace who looked up and put his hand up for a high-five.

"I can't believe you two."

"Oh, are you going to tell me you and Simon have never had sex in our house?"

"No, we have sex in your house at least once a month, but I would never expect you two to be so daring."

"Remind me to have the house thoroughly cleaned before the baby gets here," Jace said.

"Um, hello, Isabelle, I'm pregnant," I said gesturing to my large stomach. "I didn't do it all on my own."

"Okay, can we please stop talking about this," Simon piped up from the corner. "Jace, don't you have a bottle of champagne or something that you should be opening?"

Jace jumped up from his seat and returned with four glasses of champagne. It was perfectly fine for me to have one glass for celebratory reasons. He passed the glasses around and raised his own glass.

"These past few months have been Hell, but we couldn't have made it with you guys," Jace said. "Now that that bastard is in jail, we can finally try to live our lives as normally as possible. I love all of you and don't know what I would do without you."

We all raised our glasses in agreement. Simon cleared his throat.

"So, when are you guys getting married," he asked. After we got Jace home from the hospital, he wanted to get married right away. He was ready to go to the courthouse and be my husband, but I told him I wanted to wait until all the court mess was over with. We hadn't really talked about when we would actually get married, but I was ready to be his wife.

"That would be a question for Clary," Jace said pointing to me. I thought for a second before I answered.

"Why don't we get married right now," I blurted out. The room fell silent. "Think about it. You want to be married before the baby comes, but I don't want to wear a wedding dress while I'm pregnant. We can go to the courthouse right now and make it official and have a reception after the baby is born."

Everyone stared at me for a few moments before Jace lunged at me and wrapped his arms around me. "You are a genius!" He kissed me and pulled me off the couch. "Go get ready, babe. Simon and Iz, you're coming with us to be our witnesses. We're leaving in ten minutes."

I ran upstairs to find something to wear. My closet was full of clothes, but nothing was jumping out at me. Then something caught my eye. It was a white sundress that Isabelle bought me for my birthday. It fell to the floor and flowed perfectly over my belly. If I wasn't going to have a huge wedding, the least I could do was wear a white dress. After I put the dress on, I fixed up my makeup and hair. Eight minutes later, I was walking toward the front door.

Jace was wearing one of his black suits he reserves for important business meetings, facing the door. Isabelle and Simon came up behind me and I cleared my throat causing Jace to turn around. He smiled as he saw me in my dress and reached for my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it.

"Are you ready to become Mrs. Lightwood," he asked.

"Let's go Mr. Lightwood," I said as he pulled me to the car. In the next hour, I will marry the man of my dreams.

* * *

_A/N: I really liked writing this chapter so I hope you all liked it! Thank you so much for reading! :)_


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